Key words: Neomys fodiens, Distribution limit, ItalyThe water shrew, Neomys fodiens (Pennant,1771), is a Palaearctic species largely dis-tributed in Europe. Its southern Europeandistribution fringe is 411N, ranging from theCantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, theCentral Appennines to the Mountains ofNorthern Macedonia (Greece) in the Balkanregion (Spitzenberger 1999; Vohralik andSofianidou 1987).In Italy, the species is widely distributed inthe Alps and more scattered throughout thecentral regions (see Spitzenberger 1990,1999;Amori and Aloise 2005)(Fig. 1). The mainhabitats of water shrews are lakes and rivershoresand alsowater streamswith abundantriparian vegetation (Toschi 1959; Spitzenber-ger 1990).During a small mammal survey in the SilaMassif (Calabria region, Italy) a specimen(Theriological Collection, Department ofEcology, University of Calabria, No.SG382, female, 30.09.2001, G. Aloise et al.leg.) has been collected at Valle Capra (SilaGrande Massif, N 39:21:15, E 16:29:35) atabout 1175ma.s.l., in a water stream withblack alder (Alnus glutinosa) as the arborealdominant species. This specimen has beenfound in syntopy with Sorex minutus, S.antinorii and/or samniticus, N. anomalus,Muscardinus avellanarius, Clethrionomysglareolus, Arvicola terrestris, Microtus savii,Apodemus flavicollis, A. sylvaticus.The Sila Grande is an extensive undulatingplateau extending from 800ma.s.l. to amaximum of 1930ma.s.l. in the centralCalabrianApennines.TheclimateistypicallyMediterranean in lower slopes and mountai-nous Mediterranean in upper ones. RainfallisconcentratedfromNovembertoAprilwithannual mean of 1423mm (Ciancio 1971).Linked to this climatic gradient, forestcomposition and structure change with alti-tude.Between600and1100ma.s.l.broadleafwoodlands are dominated by chestnut(Castanea sativa). Above 1100ma.s.l. theforest is dominated by the Calabrian blackpine (Pinus laricio).Fromthemorphologicalfeatures(ventralsideoftailfringedwithlonghairs,hindfeetthicklyfringed) it is possible to classify the specimenasNeomys fodiens (Pennant,1771)(seeToschi1959; Spitzenberger 1990). Moreover, taxo-nomical attribution has also been confirmedby the genetic analysis of the specimen.The most southern locality of previousfindings for N. fodiens in Italy was ValFondillo–Opi (Abruzzo region) (Amori et al.1988). Some observations of the water shrewfor the Campania region (see Maio et al.2000), need to be confirmed.