Greater blind mole-rat
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Greater blind mole-rat
| image = Філія ЛПЗ НАНУ "Стрільцівський степ" Spalax microphthalmus.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Spalax
| species = microphthalmus
| authority = Gueldenstaedt, 1770
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
|Spalax pallasii|Nordmann, 1839
|Spalax typhlus|Pallas, 1779
}}
}}
The greater blind mole-rat (Spalax microphthalmus) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae.{{MSW3 Muroidea | id = 13000035 | page = 921}} It is found in Russia and Ukraine.
Description
The greater blind mole-rat is tailless. The eyes are covered by a membrane of skin and have atrophied lens cells enclosed in a vesicle and a retinal layer. It has prominent incisor teeth, which are used for burrowing. The fur is greyish, but can vary in color. It can grow to a size of {{cvt|31|cm|in|0}} and weigh up to {{cvt|570|g|oz|0}}. Its dental formula is {{DentalFormula|upper=1.0.0.3|lower=1.0.0.3}} {{cite book | last = MacDonald | first = David|author2=Priscilla Barret |title = Mammals of Britain & Europe |volume= 1| year = 1993| publisher = HarperCollins |location = London | isbn =0-00-219779-0| page = 239 }}
Distribution and habitat
The greater blind mole-rat is known from the steppes of Ukraine and from southern Russia between the Dnieper and the Volga rivers. Its range extends northwards to the Oryol to Kursk railway line and southwards to the North Caucasus.{{cite book|author1=Don E. Wilson|author2=DeeAnn M. Reeder|title=Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgAMbNSt8ikC&pg=PA921 |year=2005 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8221-0 |pages=921}} It favours lowland habitats with black earth, avoiding sandy or loamy soils. It inhabits steppes and forest steppes, agricultural land, plantations, orchards and gardens and can be a pest.
Behavior
The greater blind mole-rat is a fossorial species that stays underground except when dispersing to new territories as juveniles, a period of great vulnerability. It lives a solitary existence, except during the breeding season. Due to its atrophied eyes it is totally blind. The paws are not modified like the ones of the moles; it digs with its incisor teeth instead.
It is a herbivore and feeds on the roots of such plants as dandelions, umbellifers, chicory and tree seedlings, approaching them from underneath. It gathers excess food and stores it in its burrow, sometimes as much as {{convert|14|kg|lb|-1|abbr=on}} being collected. Breeding takes place once a year with a litter of two to five young being born in March.
Status
In general the greater blind mole-rat is a common species, but somewhat patchily distributed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern"
References
{{Wikispecies|Spalax microphthalmus}}
{{Commons category|Spalax microphthalmus}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Spalacidae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q82434}}
Category:Mammals described in 1770