Occurrences of Spalax zemni

Study Extent

Mapping of mole-rats was done in different seasons, mainly along highways, but also in the countryside.

Sampling

Most of the occurrences were recorded using GPS Garmin eTrex30 and eTrex30x. Presence of mole-rats was identified by soil mounds. In many cases mounds were recorded during driving the car, thus the accuracy of points is app. 100-200m (it took few seconds from noticing the mounds to record the location in GPS). In cases of uncertainty tunnels were excavated to measure the burrow diameter. In several cases mole-rats were captured and genotyped. For genotyping we used cytB mitochondrial gene. This allowed to correctly place populations with controversial species status within S. zemni.

Quality Control

To correctly identify species living in the underground burrow two approaches were made: 1) burrows were excavates to measure the diameter; 2) animals were captured and genotyped. Only genotyping allows to correctly identify species within this genus. For genotyping we used cytB gene.

Method steps

1. Driving motorway and countryside roads.
2. Mapping all mounds of mole-rats using GPS Garmin eTrex 30/30x.
3. Undigging suspicious tunnels.
4. Trapping of animals in few cases.
5. Tissue sampling.
6. Occurrences imported from GPS device to Garmin BaseCamp.
7. Occurrences from BaseCamp exported to produce DwC compatible database.

1. Spalax zemni
   common name: Mole-rat rank: species

Ukraine: Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Dnipro, Kropyvnytsky, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, partially Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk Regions.