Nannospalax

Nannospalax is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae, found in eastern Europe and western Asia. It is one of two genera in the blind mole-rats (subfamily Spalacinae), alongside Spalax. Members of this genus are also known as small-bodied mole-rats. As with members of the genus Spalax, they are completely blind, with their eyes being entirely covered by skin.

== Taxonomy and evolution == Until 2013, members of this genus were grouped in Spalax, but phylogenetic analysis indicates that both diverged during the late Miocene, about 7.6 million years ago, when a marine barrier formed between Anatolia and the Balkans. It also supports two different subgenera within this genus; Nannospalax sensu stricto (containing a single species) and Mesospalax, which diverged from each other during the late Miocene or early Pliocene, after the uplift of the Anatolian Plateau.