Mediterranean water shrew
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Neomys
Species:
N. anomalus
Binomial name
Neomys anomalus
Cabrera, 1907

The Iberian water shrew (Neomys anomalus) is a species of mammal in the insectivore family Soricidae.[1][2]

Distribution

The Iberian water shrew is found in France, Portugal, and Spain.[1]

Neomys anomalus was previously used in a broader sense for the Mediterranean water shrew, which had two subspecies: Neomys anomalus anomalus in the Iberian peninsula and Neomys anomalus millerii with a wide distribution from western Europe to southwest Asia.[3] Following a phylogenetic analysis, the two subspecies were recognised as distinct species, Neomys anomalus for the Iberian species and Neomys milleri for the more widely distributed species.[1][2] The most recent conservation assessment of broadly defined species for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species gave a conservation status of Least Concern,[3] but the Iberian water shrew has not been assessed separately.

Feeding habits

It feeds mainly on amphibians and small fish, but also take insects and worms. Because of its small size and thus higher surface area to volume ratio, it loses body heat more quickly and must eat two or three times its body mass each day.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neomys anomalus.
  1. 1 2 3 "Neomys anomalus Cabrera, 1907". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Igea, Javier; Aymerich, Pere; Bannikova, Anna A.; Gosálbez, Joaquim; Castresana, Jose (2015). "Multilocus species trees and species delimitation in a temporal context: Application to the water shrews of the genus Neomys". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15: 209. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0485-z. PMC 4587729. PMID 26416383.
  3. 1 2 Hutterer, R.; Kryštufek, B.; Yigit, N.; Mitsainas, G.; Meinig, H.; Bertolino, S. & Palomo, L. (2021) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Neomys anomalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T29657A197521634.


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