Family: Sirenidae, Sirens view all from this family
Description 7-27" (17.8-68.6 cm). Aquatic; slender eel-like body; brown, gray, or blackish above, sometimes with dark spotting. External gills, 3 gill slits; 4 toes on front limbs. Tail compressed, with fin; tail tip pointed. Costal grooves, 31-38. Male larger than female.
Subspecies Eastern Lesser Siren (S. i. intermedia), black or brown with minute black dots, costal grooves 31-34; coastal plain, from se. North Carolina to w. Alabama.
Western Lesser Siren (S. i. nettingi), brown, olive, or gray with tiny black dots (sometimes unpatterned), costal grooves 34-38; w. Alabama to e. Texas; lower Rio Grande Valley; north in Mississippi Valley to Michigan.
The Rio Grande Siren (formerly known as S. i. texana) is now classified as a population of S. i. nettingi. These individuals, the largest of the Lesser Sirens, are dark gray and unpatterned to light or brownish gray with many dark flecks; costal grooves 36-38.
Breeding Nests in winter and early spring. Female lays about 200 eggs in a sheltered cavity. Hatching larvae are 1/2" (11 mm) long, mature in 2 years.
Habitat Warm, shallow, quiet waters; swamps, sloughs, weedy ponds.
Range Coastal plain from se. North Carolina to c. Florida, west to s. and e. Texas and se. Oklahoma, north to sw. Michigan.
Discussion The Lesser Siren emits a clicking sound when excited, yelps when captured, and squirms vigorously when handled. It eats aquatic invertebrates and plants.
