Kingdom Animalia Order Rodentia Genus Spalax Higher classification Spalax | Phylum Chordata Family Spalacidae Scientific name Spalax leucodon Rank Species | |
Similar Spalacidae, Middle East blind mole rat, Podolsk mole rat | ||
The lesser mole-rat (Spalax leucodon) is a species of rodents in the family Spalacidae found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Israel, Turkey, Iran and Ukraine. Recently, its taxonomic position is changing in the light of new scientific information.
Firstly, modern authors tend to separate this and some closely related mole rat species from other Spalax species by classifying them into a separate genus named Nannospalax.
Secondly, a recent cariological study shows Nannospalax leucodon is a superspecies consisting of several cariologically dinstinct cryptic species. It has four separate cariological forms in the Carpathian Basin, one of them is endangered, another one is vulnerable and no data are available to evaluate the conservation status of the other two forms.
