Mediterranean water shrew

Description

The snout-vent length is 65-86 mm and the tail length 40-56 mm. The animals weight 6-16 g, rarely up to 18.5 g. The fur is slate black on the upperparts, the underpart is grey to white. The species shows less strong adaptations to life in water than the similar Eurasian water shrew, a bristle fringe on the tail and hind feet is only indicated.

Habitat

The Mediterranean water shrew inhabits eutrophic riparian vegetation on stillwaters, slow-flowing streams and rivers, and marshes from lowland to 1850 m altitude. Habitat use is apparently significantly influenced by competition with the water shrew. Where the Eurasian water shrew is absent, the Mediterranean water shrew lives more aquatically and also increases in size.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumpfspitzmaus). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 09 August 2021