The Iberian water shrew (''Neomys anomalus'') is a species of

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

in the

insectivore file:Common brown robberfly with prey.jpg, A Asilidae, robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivore, carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the Entomophagy ...

family Soricidae.

Distribution

The Iberian water shrew is found in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. ''Neomys anomalus'' was previously used in a broader sense for the

Mediterranean water shrew The Mediterranean, Southern or Miller's water shrew (''Neomys milleri'') is a species of insectivoran mammal in the family Soricidae. Distribution The shrew is found in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cze ...

, 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. Following a phylogenetic analysis, the two subspecies were recognised as distinct species, ''Neomys anomalus'' for the Iberian species and ''

Neomys milleri The Mediterranean, Southern or Miller's water shrew (''Neomys milleri'') is a species of insectivoran mammal in the family Soricidae. Distribution The shrew is found in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cze ...

'' for the more widely distributed species. The conservation assessment of the broadly defined species (Southern water shrew) for

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

in 2021 gave a conservation status of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

, and the Iberian water shrew was assessed separately in 2024.

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

Neomys Mammals described in 1907 {{redtoothed-shrew-stub