The Middle East blind mole rat or Israel mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi or Nannospalax ehrenbergi) is a species of rodents in the Spalacidae family found in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubbish vegetation, and it is threatened by habitat loss.
Recent cytogenetic studies have shown S. ehrenbergi may actually be a species group containing several cryptic species with chromosome numbers 2n=48, 2n=52, 2n=54, 2n=56 and 2n=58.
Famous quotes containing the words middle, east, blind, mole and/or rat:
“A tragedy is a representation of an action that is whole and complete and of a certain magnitude.... A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)
“It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense.... He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.”
—Vance Palmer (1885–1959)
“Because the pleasure-bird whistles after the hot wires,
Shall the blind horse sing sweeter?”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“On her left breast
A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops
I’ th’ bottom of a cowslip.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Everybody gets pinched but you did it right. You told them nothing and they got nothing. You learned the two greatest things in life: Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.”
—Nicholas Pileggi, U.S. screenwriter, and Martin Scorsese. Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro)