Eospalax fontanierii (Milne-Edwards 1867)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Spalacidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 907-926 : 910

Eospalax fontanierii (Milne-Edwards 1867)

[Eospalax] fontanierii ( Milne-Edwards 1867) , Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris), 7: 376.

Type Locality: China, Kansu.

Vernacular Names: Chinese Zokor.

Synonyms: Eospalax baileyi Thomas 1911 ; Eospalax cansus Lyon 1907 ; Eospalax fontanus Thomas 1912 ; Eospalax kukunoriensis Lönnberg 1926 ; Eospalax rufescens (J. A. Allen 1909) ; Eospalax shenseius Thomas 1911 .

Distribution: Forests, steppes, scrub, and farmland in NC China (N Qinghai, N Sichuan, NGansu, Ningxia, N Shaanxi, Henen, N Shanxi, Shandong, Beijing, Jilin, Hebei, and Nei Mongol; Qin, 1991; Zhang et al., 1997).

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable as Myospalax fontanierii .

Discussion: In same monophyletic group as E. smithii and E. rothschildi , which is comparable to Ellerman’s (1941) fontanierii and smithii groups, and Zheng’s (1994) Prosiphneinae . Fan and Shi (1982) recognized cansus and baileyi as species, but Li and Chen (1987, 1989) argued for their recognition as subspecies of M. fontanierii based upon analyses of morphology, karyology, and LDH isozymes. They were included in E. fontanierii by G. M. Allen (1940) and also by Zhang et al. (1997); Wang (2003) treated rufescens as a species with baileyi as a subspecies. Burrowing behavior recorded and quantified by Wang et al. (1994, as M. baileyi ).