Global and European regional assessment: Endangered (EN)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Recorded

The Podolian Mole Rat (Spalax zemni) is endemic to Europe, where it is restricted to Ukraine. The population has undergone a severe contraction with up to 50% of the range loss in the past decade. While population densities are high in the southern part of the range, in the northern and western parts most of the subpopulations have gone extinct. The causes of these declines are not understood. The species is assessed as Endangered under criterion A2ac at the Global and European scope. It has not been reported in the EU 27 region.

The species is endemic to Ukraine, where it occurs in the northern part of the Steppe zone, west of the Dnieper River and extends to the western bank of the Tylihul River (Zagorodniuk et al. 2017). S. zemni is widely distributed westwards from the Dnieper, including a stable population on Khortytsia Island, which appears to be the distribution boundary between it and S. microphthalmus (Korobchenko and Zagorodniuk 2016). In the past, it had a wider distribution from the shores of the Black Sea (subfossil remains from the ancient Greek city of Olvia) to Kyiv city (middle of 20th century). The subpopulation of this species in the Lower Dnieper Sands had been cut off by the migrating watercourse of the Dnieper River and is considered to be a separate species, Spalax arenarius, although genetically, subpopulations from both sides of the Dnieper River are very close (Hadid et al. 2012). It experienced severe range contraction with most of the northern and western populations going rapidly extinct. Modern distribution lies between the cities of Mykolaiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Dnipro and Zaporizhia. A single isolate in western Ukraine (Ivano-Frankivsk Region) is currently known to be active still.

Population densities are high in the southern part of the range, but in the northern and western part most of the subpopulations have gone extinct, which equates to around 50% of the population.

The species dwells in steppe and partially in the forest-steppe zones. It prefers open landscapes with black soil. It is abundant in ravines, pastures, and along highways. In agricultural areas it normally has lower densities, but the species can be found in all types of crops (winter cereals, maize, alfalfa, vegetables, sunflower, rapes etc.). It is a typical underground rodent that builds extensive tunnel systems. It usually comes to the surface in late spring to disperse and is capable of moving hundreds of meters underground to pass through ploughed land where no food is available.

Causes for the dramatic decline in northern and western parts of the range are not understood. In the south it is often persecuted as a pest by farmers. Some subpopulations in Mykolaiv and Kherson Regions suffered from military activities during the ongoing conflict that commenced in 2022. Isolated populations, especially in Western Ukraine, are threatened by the habitat loss due to urban development.

The species is not utilised or traded.

In Ukraine it is a protected species and listed in the Red Book of Ukraine as Vulnerable (as of 2021). It occurs in several regional-level protected areas. Site protection, as well as species reintroductions in the northern and western parts of the range are recommended conservation methods. Research into the population trends and threats faced by this species are also recommended.