Zokors are Asiatic burrowing

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s resembling mole-rats. They include two genera: '' Myospalax'' and ''

Eospalax ''Eospalax'' is a genus of rodents in the family Spalacidae. It contains these species: *Chinese zokor The Chinese zokor (''Eospalax fontanierii'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to China, ranging from Qinghai, ...

''. Zokors are native to much of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and Siberian Russia. Traditionally, zokors were thought to be closely related to either

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

s ( Cricetinae) or

vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...

s (

Arvicolinae The Arvicolinae are a subfamily of rodents that includes the voles, lemmings, and muskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in the Cricetidae (comprising the hamsters and New World rats and mice). Some authorities plac ...

), but recent

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies have demonstrated they are more closely related to blind mole-rats ( Spalacinae) and root and bamboo rats ( Rhizomyinae) in the family

Spalacidae The Spalacidae, or spalacids, are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. They are native to eastern Asia, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. It includes the blind mole-rats, bamboo rats, m ...

. It appears that one of the first important evolutionary splits in

muroid The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except ...

rodents is between burrowing forms and nonburrowing forms. Unlike the other spalacids, which primarily use their

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s, zokors use their powerful front claws for digging. They have small eyes and no external ears. Zokors feed on plant matter such as

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s and

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

Taxonomy

Subfamily Myospalacinae *Genus '' Myospalax'' **''Myospalax myospalax'' species group *** False zokor, ''M. aspalax'' *** Siberian zokor, ''M. myospalax'' **''Myospalax psilurus'' species group *** Transbaikal zokor, ''M. psilurus'' *Genus ''

'' **

Chinese zokor The Chinese zokor (''Eospalax fontanierii'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to China, ranging from Qinghai, Qinghai Province eastwards to Beijing in steppe and alpine grasslands. Henri Milne-Edwards first described ...

, ''E. fontanierii'' **

Rothschild's zokor The Rothschild's zokor (''Eospalax rothschildi'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a popu ...

, ''E. rothschildi'' **

Smith's zokor Smith's zokor (''Eospalax smithii'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae, endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1. ...

, ''E. smithii''

References

*Jansa, S. A. and M. Weksler. 2004.

Phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

s: relationships within and among major lineages as determined by IRBP

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:256-276. *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 *Norris, R. W., K. Y. Zhou, C. Q. Zhou, G. Yang, C. W. Kilpatrick, and R. L. Honeycutt. 2004. The phylogenetic position of the zokors ( Myospalacinae) and comments on the families of muroids (

Rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

ia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31:972-978. *Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's

Mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London. Spalacidae Mammal subfamilies Rodents of China Mammals of Siberia Fauna of Kazakhstan Rodents of Asia {{muroid-stub