Nannospalax (Nannospalax) ehrenbergi (Nehring, 1898)

39. Middle East Blind Mole Rat, Nannospalax (Nannospalax) ehrenbergi (Nehring, 1898) View in CoL

(IUCN Red List: DD)

Distribution: Common and widespread in steppic vegetation. Harrison & Bates (1991) indicated that the vicinity of Palmyra probably represents the limit of the penetration of the species into the Syrian Desert, but the range extends to the southwestern regions ( Fig. 45 View FIGURE 45 ).

Previous records: Syria (Trouessart & Kollman 1923), around Tell Abiad and in Ain Al-Arous ( Misonne 1957), Qal’at Al-Hosson ( Nadachowski et al. 1990), Ras Al-Ayn (north of Al Hasaka) ( Lehmann 1965), Tell Al-Buderi (Shehab et al. 2004), Sahnaya, Rakhla, Ain Thakar, Al-Amronya, Al-Qaq’iah, Qastal Maaf, Zeghreen, Kafr Daryian, Darat Izza, Qal’at Samaan, Al-Mihnaya, Al-Swydah and Al-Mahrousa ( Shehab 2004b), Khrab Al-Shaham ( Shehab 2005), Yahmool ( Shehab & Charabi 2006), Al-Furunlok, Abu Qubays and Jabal Abd Al-Aziz ( Daoud & Khalil 2009a, b, c).

Recent records: Jabal Abd Al-Aziz, N of Al Hasaka, Jabal Al-Bishri, and vicinity of ar-Raqqa (2006–2010), Tseil (2009), Al-Haffah, aj- Joziyah, vicinity of Mesiaf; south of Aleppo, Salamiyah, Sinjwan, B’eit, Qbaybat, Wadi Qandil, Slouq, Halbon and Al- Msherfeh (2021).

Remarks: A cluster of cryptic species ( Kryštufek et al. 2011; Hadid et al. 2012; Al-Sheikhly et al. 2015). At its present scope, N. ehrenbergi is chromosomally polymorphic with 20 cytotypes described to date ( Arslan et al. 2016). One of these chromosomal races (the Golani cytotype; 2n=54, NFa=78, NF=82) is present in the Golan Height, and further three cytotypes occur in the immediate vicinity of this area, hence their presence in Syria is likely: the Galili cytotype (2n=52, NFa=80, NF=84; present in the Upper Galilee mountains), the Carmeli cytotype (2n=58, NFa=72, NF=76; present in Samaria and Judea, the Jordan valley, and Northern Negev), and the Irbid cytotype (2n=60, NFa=74, NF=78; present to the south-east of Amman). Five cytotypes were retrieved from southern Turkey in close proximity to Syrian territory: the Yayladağ cytotype (2n=48, NFa=69–70, NF=73–74; range is in southern-most Hatay), the Intermedius cytotype (2n=52, NFa=70, NF=74; occupies Hatay and SE Anatolia), the Elazığ cytotype (2n=52, NFa=72, NF=76; present all along the Syrian–Turkish bodrer eastward of the Euphrates River and in Mosul, Iraq), the Şanlıurfa cytotype (2n=52, NFa=76–78, NF=80–82; occupies the vicinity of Şanlıurfa), and the Suruç cytotype (2n=54, NFa=72, NF=76; occupies small range between the Şanlıurfa and the Elazığ cytotypes) ( Arslan et al. 2016). Mole rats from Mosul Province (Nineveh, Iraq) belong to Elazığ cytotype ( CoŞkun et al. 2012). Because chromosomal races frequently occupy small ranges, one may safely predict that karyotyping to the east of the Tigris River will reveal further chromosomal diversity in this variable group. The Middle East blind mole rat is better regarded as a species complex comprising several biological species ( Hadid et al. 2012; Al-Sheikhly et al. 2015).