Noteworthy Record of the Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus) from South-Western Iran (Mammalia: Soricomorpha)

Abstract: Three water shrew specimens were collected in the Sheshpir spring (2303 m a.s.l.), Fars province, south-western Iran. In pennial morphology, which is species-specific in the genus Neomys Kaup, 1829, the specimens were indistinguishable from N. anomalus Cabrera, 1907. The Sheshpir spring is located approximately 900 km to the south-south-west of Gorgan, the only site in Iran where N. anomalus has been known to occur so far. The spring is a stony basin with bare banks and poorly developed aquatic vegetation and as such is an atypical habitat for water shrews. It is noteworthy that fish are absent in the spring. Key Words: Neomys anomalus, range extension, zoogeography, Iran