Judean Mountains blind mole rat
The Judean Mountains blind mole rat (Spalax judaei) is an extant species of subterranean rodent within the Spalacidae family, indigenous to central Israel. Following the identification of S. judaei in 2001, Nevo et al. recorded specimens in the vicinity surrounding the Lahav settlement. This species, along with Spalax golani and, by a different mechanism Heterocephalus glaber, appear to be immune from cancer.
- Nevo, Eviatar; Ivanitskaya, Elena; Beiles, Avigdor (2001). Adaptive radiation of blind subterranean mole rats: Naming and revisiting the four sibling species of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
- Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Cormier, Zoe (November 5, 2012). "Blind mole rats may hold key to cancer". Nature. http://www.nature.com/news/blind-mole-rats-may-hold-key-to-cancer-1.11741.