By Bret Weinstein
Geographic Range
The Pyrenees mountains in France, and the northern portion of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal)
Biogeographic Regions:
palearctic 
(native ).
Habitat
Iberian desmans are usually found in cold mountain lakes and rivers with abundant crustaceans and insect larvae.
Aquatic Biomes:
lakes and ponds; rivers and streams.
Physical Description
Iberian desmans have many adaptations to their aquatic habitat. These include a long tail, verticaly flattened at the end, and the ability to close their ears and nostrils.
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
The gestation period is about thirty days. Populations have three estrus peaks in a given breeding season (January-May). Litter size can be from one to five. Sexual maturity is reached in the second year of life.
Key reproductive features:
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual .
Behavior
Iberian desmans have no sexual size dimorphism. They seek shelter in rock crevices, the burrows of water rats, or in caves. Only rarely do they dig their own burrows. They are typically monogamous with a male's territory completely encompassing that of a female. There are solitary adults of both sexes. Territories are defended and marked with scent produced with specialized scent-glands. Iberian desmans are nocturnal. It has been suggested that Iberian desmans slap the surface of the water to produce noises useful in echolocation, although this is only speculation. Their are no known predators in normal circumstances, although one was attacked by a weasel while in a trap.
Key behaviors:
motile .
Food Habits
Iberian desmans eat larval aquatic insects, crustaceans, and terrestrial insects. They will eat appropriate food whether it is alive or dead. Some people have claimed that Iberian desmans forage away from water, but this is uncertain.
Conservation Status
IUCN "vulnerable" due to habitat destruction
Contributors
Bret Weinstein (author), University of Michigan.
