{{Short description|Species of rodent}} {{speciesbox | name = Lesser blind mole-rat | image = Сліпак білозубий (Nannospalax leucodon).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Rusin, M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2024 |title=''Nannospalax leucodon'' |article-number=e.T14328A221788646 |doi= |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref> | genus = Nannospalax | species = leucodon | authority = (Nordmann, 1840) | synonyms = ''Spalax leucodon'' <small>Nordmann, 1840</small> | range_map = Spalax leucodon range map.png }}
The '''lesser blind mole-rat''' ('''''Nannospalax leucodon''''') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Nannospalax leucodon'' (Nordmann, 1840)|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Nannospalax&species=leucodon&id=1003794|access-date=2022-03-07|website=www.mammaldiversity.org|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028140029/https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Nannospalax&species=leucodon&id=1003794}}</ref>
== Taxonomy ==
Prior to 2012, it was classified in the genus ''Spalax'', but modern authors tend to separate this and some closely related mole rat species into a separate genus named ''Nannospalax''. A study of the dentition showed that ''Nannospalax leucodon'' is a superspecies consisting of several cryptic species that can be distinguished by the caries in their teeth. According to this definition there are four separate "cariological" forms in the Carpathian Basin, one of them endangered and another one vulnerable while insufficient data are available to evaluate the conservation status of the other two forms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=KRYŠTUFEK |first1=BORIS |last2=IVANITSKAYA |first2=ELENA |last3=ARSLAN |first3=ATILLA |last4=ARSLAN |first4=EMINE |last5=BUŽAN |first5=ELENA V. |date=2011-10-31 |title=Evolutionary history of mole rats (genus Nannospalax) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=446–455 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01795.x |s2cid=83596816 |issn=0024-4066}}</ref>
== Behavior and ecology == Blind mole-rats are not in fact completely blind as they do possess simple eyes 1mm in diameter and located under a layer of skin and fur. They act effectively as light meters, only sensing the level of available light.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.7554/eLife.78295 | doi-access=free | title=Alone, in the dark: The extraordinary neuroethology of the solitary blind mole rat | date=2022 | last1=Kashash | first1=Yael | last2=Smarsh | first2=Grace | last3=Zilkha | first3=Noga | last4=Yovel | first4=Yossi | last5=Kimchi | first5=Tali | journal=eLife | volume=11 | article-number=e78295 | pmid=35674717 | pmc=9177142 }}</ref>
=== Life expectancy === One study directed towards life expectancy used this species by virtue of its incredible longevity performance, hypoxia and hypercapnia endurance, as well as cancer resistance. Looking at the fecal and skin samples of this ideal candidate, it was found that the Muribaculaceae bacterial family, known to be linked with longevity, dominated fecal samples.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sibai |first=Mustafa |last2=Altuntaş |first2=Ebru |last3=Yıldırım |first3=Berna |last4=Öztürk |first4=Gürkan |last5=Yıldırım |first5=Süleyman |last6=Demircan |first6=Turan |title=Microbiome and Longevity: High Abundance of Longevity-Linked Muribaculaceae in the Gut of the Long-Living Rodent Spalax leucodon |url=https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/omi.2020.0116 |journal=OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology |publication-date=5 October 2020 |volume=24 |issue=10 |pages=592–601 |doi=10.1089/omi.2020.011 |via=Mary Ann Liebert}}</ref>
== Conservation == The lesser blind mole-rat was declared to be extinct in Croatia in 1984, having been present in the area of Srijem up until the 20th century, but its continued presence in Vučedol was confirmed in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2023 |title=Veliko otkriće na Vučedolu, pronađen glodavac kojeg se smatralo izumrlim: 'Pojeo nam je svo povrće!' |url=https://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/veliko-otkrice-na-vucedolu-pronaden-glodavac-kojeg-se-smatralo-izumrlim-pojeo-nam-je-svo-povrce-15316542 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=www.jutarnji.hr}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed"> File:Nannospalax leucodon.jpg|Lesser blind mole-rat in Eastern Hungary. File:Földikutya (Spalax leucodon).jpg|Close-up of the fur. </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}} *{{MSW3 Muroidea | pages = 894–1531 | heading = Superfamily Muroidea}} * Németh A, Révay T, Hegyeli Z, Farkas J, Czabán D, Rózsás A, Csorba G 2009. [http://milvus.ro/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/N%C3%A9meth-et-al.-2009.pdf Chromosomal forms and risk assessment of Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon) (Mammalia: Rodentia) in the Carpathian Basin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813000119/http://milvus.ro/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/N%C3%A9meth-et-al.-2009.pdf |date=2017-08-13 }} ''Folia Zoologica,'' '''58(3),''' 349–361.
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Category:Nannospalax Category:Rodents of Europe Category:Mammals described in 1840 Category:Taxa named by Alexander von Nordmann Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot