Greater blind mole-rat
| Greater mole rat | |
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| Species: | S. microphthalmus
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| Spalax microphthalmus Gueldenstaedt, 1770
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The greater mole rat (Spalax microphthalmus) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is found in Russia and Ukraine.
Description
The greater mole rat is tail-less. 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 31 cm and weigh up to 570 g. Its dental formula is 1.0.0.31.0.0.3 [1]
Behavior
The greater mole rat is a fossorial species that stays underground except when dispersing to new territories as juveniles, a period of great vulnerability. It lives solitarily, 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.[1]
References
- Amori, G. 1996. Spalax microphthalmus. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.
- Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
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