Speciation in action and adaptation in subterranean mole rats: patterns and theory

Subterranean mole rats of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel represent a dynamic case of ecological speciation in action. The complex comprises 4 chromosomal species (2n = 52, 54, 58 and 60) displaying progressive stages of late chromosomal speciation. The active ecological speciation of S. ehrenbergi into increasingly arid environments was initiated by chromosomal evolution followed by genic accumulation of positive assortative mating and the concomitant evolution of a syndrome of climatically coadapted genomic adaptations at all organizational levels. S. ehrenbergi represents a pluralistic example where chromosomal and genic mutations, genetic drift, migration, isolation, and selection, all interact in producing adaptive new species associated with environmental diversity and challenges, thereby linking the mechanisms of microto macroevolution, corroborating the synthetic theory of Darwinian evolution (Eds.).