Noteworthy Record of the Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus) from South-Western Iran (Mammalia: Soricomorpha)
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.
Noteworthy Record of the Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus) from South-Western Iran (Mammalia: Soricomorpha)
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.
___
- Bannikova, A.A. and Kramerov, D.A. 2005. Molecular phylogeny of Palearctic shrews inferred from RFLP and IS-PCR data. In: Advances in the biology of shrews II (eds. J. F. Merritt, S. Churchfield, R. Hutterer, and B. I. Sheftel). Special Publication of the International Society of Shrew Biologists, 1: 87-98.
- Churchfield, S. and Rychlik, L. 2006. Diets and coexistence in Neomys and Sorex shrews in Bia´lowie˙za forest, eastern Poland. J. Zool. (Lond.) 269: 381-390.
- Etemad, E. 1984. The mammals of Iran, Department of the Environment, Vol. 3. Tehran.
- Firouz, E. 2000. A guide to the fauna of Iran. Iran University Press, Tehran.
- Hutterer, R. 1985. Anatomical adaptations in shrews. Mammal Rev. 15: 43-55.
- Hutterer, R. 2005. Order Soricomorpha. In: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rded., Vol. 1 (eds. D.E. Wilson and A.M. Reeder). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp. 220-311
- Kry˘stufek, B. and Vohralík, V. 2001. Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus: Introduction, Checklist, Insectivora. Knjiznica Annales Majora, Koper.
- Kry˘stufek, B., Vohralík, V. and Kurtonur, C. 1998. A new look at the identity and distribution of water shrews (Neomys spp.) in Turkey. Z. Säugetierkd. 63: 129-136.
- Kry˘stufek, B., Davison, A. and Griffiths, H.L. 2000. Evolutionary biogeography of water shrews (Neomys spp.) in the western Palaearctic Region. Can. J. Zool. 78: 1616-1625.
- Lay, D.M. 1967. A Study of the Mammals of Iran Resulting from the Street Expedition of 1962-63. Fieldiana Zool. 54: 1-282.
- Spitzenberger, F. 1999. Neomys anomalus Cabrera, 1907. In: The atlas of European mammals. (eds. Mitchell-Jones, A., Amori, G., Bogdanowicz, Spitzenberger, F., Stubbe, M., Thissen, J.B.M., Vohralík, V. and Zima, J. 1999. The Atlas of European Mammals. Poyser Natural History, London. Pp.58-59. B., Reijnders, P.J.H., Niethammer,
- J. 1977. Eines syntopes Vorkommen der
- Wasserspitzmäuse Neomys fodiens und N. anomalus. Z.
- Säugetierkd. 42: 1-6.
- Niethammer, J. 1978. Weitere Beobachtungen über syntopie Wasserspitzmäuse der Arten Neomys fodiens und N. anomalus. Z. Säugetierkd. 43: 313-321.
- Sokolov, V.E. and Tembotov, A.K. 1989. Pozvonochnie Kavkaza. Mlekopitayushchie, nasekomojadniye. Nauka, Moskva.
- Ziaei, H. 1996. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Iran. Department of the Environment, Tehran.