Added 5 March 2005.

The Family Sirenidae: Sirens

Genus Siren - Sirens

See notes on the Sirenidae page for basic information.

William B Davis and Frank T Knapp conducted a study of Siren intermedia in the early fifties in a pond where the poison rotonene had been used to kill fish. Although virtually all the fish had died by 18.00 on the afternoon that the poison was applied, the sirens did not appear until 8.00 the next day, when they were in a semi-stupor. The morning after, a number of dead were found floating in the water or stranded on the shoreline. This time lapse relative to the fish was explained by the sirens laying in the mud during the day and only coming out at night, at which point they would have been exposed to the poison. Analysis showed that of 30 examined, 25 had consumed large quantities of vegetation; midle larvae (Chironomidae) and larval mayfly (Baetidae) had been taken by roughly half the specimens. This led the authors to conclude that the species was a bottom feeder: however the fact that most of the vegetation consumed had not been digested led to the conclusion that the sirens were not herbivorous.

S. intermedia, Lesser Siren

S. lacertina, Greater Siren

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Siren
S. intermedia	Lesser Siren	USA (Virginia SW to Texas), Mexico (Tamaulipas)	7-26"/18-68½cm	4 toes. Coloration: generally dorsally dark brown to bluish black, sometimes olive-green; lighter specimens may have irregularly scattered dark spots; juveniles have a red band across the snout and along the side of the head.
S. i. intermedia	Eastern Lesser Siren	USA (Florida, S Alabama, S/SE Georgia, SE South Carolina, SE North Carolina: isolated colonies in NE North Carolina, SE Virginia, SW Michigan and N Indiana)	Max 15"/38cm	Costal grooves 31-35. Conant and Collin suggest that the colonies in NE North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan and Indiana may have been introduced. May make clicking sounds when approached by other sirens or partially leaving a burrow to gulp air at the surface.
S. i. nettingi	Western Lesser Siren	USA (E Texas, Louisiana, S & NE Arkansas, Mississippi, W & NW Tennessee, E/SE Montana, S Illinois, W Kentucky, W & N Indiana, extr. S Michigan)	Max 19¾"/ 50cm	Costal grooves 34-36.
S. i. texana	Rio Grande Lesser Siren	USA (Texas, Lower Rio Grande Valley), Mexico (Tamaulipas)	Max 27"/ 68½cm	Costal grooves 34-36.
S. lacertina	Greater Siren	USA (Florida, extreme S Alabama, S Georgia, SE South Carolina, E North Carolina, E Virginia)	20-30"/ 51-76cm, max 38½cm/ 97cm	4 toes: gills and forelegs are close together. Found in shallow-water habitats with slow or no current, seems to prefer cover: the young in particular make use of the pestilential water hyacinth. May make a sound like the Green Treefrog if caught. 36-40 costal grooves. Diet consists of crayfish, mollusks, worms and small fish. Coloration: overall olive to light grey, dorsum darker, sides have faint greenish or yellowish dots and dashes; some individuals have circular, well-defined black spots on top of head, back and sides; ventrally numerous greenish or yellowish flecks; young have prominent light lateral stripe and light dorsal fin; light markings disappear with age.

Bibliography

A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, R Conant and J T Collins, Peterson Field Guides, Houghton Mifflin, Boston/New York 1998. Gives details of the Sirenidae.

Newts & Salamanders - a complete pet owner's manual, Frank Indiviglio, Barrons 1997. Gives details of care for the sirens.

"Notes on the Salamander Siren intermedia", William B Davis and Frank T Knapp, Department of Wildlife Management, Texas A & M College, College Station, Texas (reprinted in Copeia, May 29, no. 2, 119-121).

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