This subterranean rodent occurs in the Upper Galilee of northern Israel. Two nearby populations differ in coat color, and a separate study compared burrow systems in contrasting soils.
The two northern species studied, S. galili and S. golani, had dark dorsal coats with reddish-orange hair tips. Within S. galili, the Kerem Ben-Zimra population on pale soil was lighter than the nearby Rihaniya population on red soil.
In a northern Israel study, burrow systems in basaltic soil were reported as shorter and more complex than those in pale rendzina soil.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.