The extensive convergent evolution of subterranean mammals across the planet (Nevo
1999) began during the global climatic transition from the middle Eocene to the early …

The global adaptive convergence of subterranean mammals currently involves 3 orders:
rodents, insectivores and marsupials. These include 11 families, 50 genera, and several …

Life underground has evolved among different groups of mammals all over the globe. It is an
extraordinary environment-with relatively constant temperature, few opportunities to meet …

Evolutionary theory should ideally specify the necessary and sufficient determinants of the
convergent and divergent patterns that have evolved in subterranean mammals (ie …

The underground ecotope is unique and stressful in many aspects (for review see, eg, Nevo
1999; Burda et al., this volume), and physiological adaptations–although less conspicuous …

Many mammals like to dig in the dirt, but few call it home. Those that do, such as mole-rats,
zokors, and tuco-tucos, have developed novel adaptations to their subterranean life …

Across the globe, in all continents but Australia and Antarctica, at least 250 extant rodent
species (38 genera, 6 families–according to the classification applied) spend most of their …

How environmental factors shape species morphology and distributions is a key issue in
ecology, especially in similar environments. Species of Myospalacinae exhibit widespread …

Among mammals, several lineages have independently adapted to a subterranean niche
and possess similar phenotypic traits for burrowing (eg, cylindrical bodies, short limbs, and …

Background Genome-wide signatures of convergent evolution are widely expected but
rarely revealed in animals. Subterranean rodent genome and transcriptome data produced …