Greater siren

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Greater siren
Temporal range: Blancan–present
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Siren lacertina side view.jpg
Siren lacertina face.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [3]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Sirenidae
Genus: Siren
Species:
S. lacertina
Binomial name
Siren lacertina
Linnaeus, 1766
Greater siren range New research.jpg

The greater siren (Siren lacertina) is an amphibian and one of the three members of the genus Siren . The largest of the sirens and one of the largest amphibians in North America, the greater siren resides in the coastal plains of the southeastern United States.

Description

The greater siren is the third longest salamander in the Western Hemisphere. [4] S. lacertina is paedomorphic, as are all sirens. They lack hindlimbs as well as a pelvic girdle, and have external gills all throughout their lives along with small lungs. They lack eyelids, and have an unfused pectoral girdle. [5] Greater sirens measure around 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in length upon hatching and then grow to lengths ranging from 18 to 97 cm (7 to 38 in). [6] [7] [8] Weight can range from 55 to 1,000 g (1.9 to 35.3 oz). [9] [10] Coloration varies throughout their range, but they are generally an olive or gray color with small yellow or green dots on their sides. They have about 36 to 40 costal grooves between their armpits and their cloaca. [11] Younger sirens also have a light stripe along their sides, which fades with age. The front legs, each with four toes, are so small that they can be hidden in the gills. [ citation needed ]

In terms of sensory organs, greater sirens rely on both a modified Jacobson's organ and a lateral line system over their small eyes. It is possible that they are capable of sensing disturbances in electrical fields. [12]

Diet

Greater siren out of water Siren lacertina.jpg
Greater siren out of water

Greater sirens are carnivorous and prey upon invertebrates (such as insects, crustaceans, gastropods, bivalves, spiders, molluscs, and crayfish) [13] and aquatic vertebrates (such as small fish) [13] with a possible preference for molluscs, [11] although they have been observed to eat vegetation such as algae. [14] [13] In addition, materials that are non-animal were found in their digestive tract added to amounts of 75% or greater. [15] The oral morphology of the greater siren contribute little to the mastication of food and does not rupture or grind ingested invertebrates, algae, or plants requiring prior fermentation in the gut. [16]

Ecology and behavior

Greater sirens play a crucial role in aquatic food webs and have been described as midlevel predators. [17] Sirens swallow molluscs whole and will pass the shell as waste. [18] They are nocturnal and spend the day in dense vegetation. [12] Their lifespan in the wild is unknown, but in captivity they can live up to 25 years. Greater sirens can vocalize, producing clicks or yelps sounding similar to the call of the American green tree frog. [11] They are able to aestivate for multiple years if necessary, burrowing into mud and exuding a cocoon of dead skin cells. This has been seen during times of drought and hydroperiod fluctuations. [19] The record can be up to 3 years. [20] Known predators include the American alligator and the mud snake. [12] Other predators of this species are poorly documented. However, on June 19, 2008 a greater siren was consumed by a two-toed amphiuma, indicating that this species could be an additional predator of the greater siren. [21]

Breeding

Their spermatozoa possess a pair of flagella, and their courtship behavior is unknown. [5] Mating occurs in February and March. After the eggs have been laid, the father will continuously fan its tail back and forth over or through the nest. The father will aggressively guard the nest from potential threats, including other sirens, and even the mother of the clutch. After 2 months, the eggs hatch, and the fathers depart from the nest. [22] Youth live in shallower water than adults, often among the roots of water hyacinths. [12]

Distribution and habitat

Greater sirens inhabit the coastal plain from Washington, D.C., to Florida and Alabama. [23] A population of sirens in the Rio Grande around Texas and Tamaulipas in Mexico was tentatively determined to be S. lacertina; however, recent studies have refuted this claim. Greater sirens live in wetlands, preferring those with a slow or nonexistent current and a thick layer of organic material. They are capable of inhabiting seasonal and permanent wetlands given their ability to aestivate, [11] and will burrow into mud if their wetland dries up. [23] They are predominately found in the deep benthic zone where aquatic insects are most abundant. [24] Associated habitat for greater sirens includes vegetative ditches, and various other forms of slow, or stagnant bodies of water. Often during the day, they seek refuges from predators and are found under logs and various other structures. [25]

Interaction with humans

Trapping techniques

S. lacertina is difficult to capture because of their preference for areas with thick vegetation. Standard methods such as dip-netting, seining, and dredges are ineffective in such habitats. The use of aquatic funnel traps, commercially produced to capture crayfish, has been found effective for use on Siren and Amphiuma species and there is no risk of drowning the animals. Each trap consists of the trap body, three funnels, and a neck with a lid at the top. [26]

Conservation

Greater sirens are classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although they have been extirpated from some of their former range due to habitat loss. They are protected under Mexican law and are assigned to the "Special Protection" category. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphibian</span> Class of ectothermic tetrapods

Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, excluding the amniotes. All extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass Lissamphibia, with three living orders: Anura (frogs), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems. Their life cycle typically starts out as aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salamander</span> Order of amphibians

Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela from the group Caudata. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.

<i>Amphiuma</i> Genus of amphibians

Amphiuma is a genus of aquatic salamanders from the United States, the only extant genus within the family Amphiumidae. They are colloquially known as amphiumas. They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders, and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo. Amphiuma exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herpetology</span> Study of amphibians and reptiles

Herpetology is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the separate scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sirenidae</span> Family of amphibians

Sirenidae, the sirens, are a family of neotenic aquatic salamanders. Family members have very small fore limbs and lack hind limbs altogether. In one species, the skeleton in their fore limbs is made of only cartilage. In contrast to most other salamanders, they have external gills bunched together on the neck in both larval and adult states. Sirens are found only in the Southeastern United States and northern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-toed amphiuma</span> Species of amphibian

The two-toed amphiuma is an aquatic salamander widely distributed in the southeastern United States. It is commonly, but incorrectly, called "congo snake", "conger eel" or the "blind eel".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-toed salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The long-toed salamander is a mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. This species, typically 4.1–8.9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long when mature, is characterized by its mottled black, brown, and yellow pigmentation, and its long outer fourth toe on the hind limbs. Analysis of fossil records, genetics, and biogeography suggest A. macrodactylum and A. laterale are descended from a common ancestor that gained access to the western Cordillera with the loss of the mid-continental seaway toward the Paleocene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marbled salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The marbled salamander is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

Lithobates sphenocephalus or Rana sphenocephala, commonly known as the southern leopard frog, is a medium-sized anuran in the family Ranidae. It is native to eastern North America from Kansas to New York to Florida. It is also an introduced species in some areas. This species lives in cool, clear water in the north, whereas in the south it occurs in warmer turbid and murky waters of coastal and floodplain swamps, twilight zones of caves, and abandoned mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser siren</span> Species of amphibian

The lesser siren is a species of aquatic salamander native to the eastern United States and northern Mexico. They are referred to by numerous common names, including two-legged eel, dwarf siren, and mud eel. The specific epithet intermedia denotes their intermediate size, between the greater siren, Siren lacertina, and the dwarf sirens, Pseudobranchus species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern slimy salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The northern slimy salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.

<i>Ambystoma talpoideum</i> Species of salamander

Ambystoma talpoideum, the mole salamander, is a species of salamander found in much of the eastern and central United States, from Florida to Texas, north to Illinois, east to Kentucky, with isolated populations in Virginia and Indiana. Older sources often refer to this species as the tadpole salamander because some individuals remain in a neotenic state. This salamander lives among the leaf litter on the forest floor, migrating to ponds to breed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mud snake</span> Species of snake

The mud snake is a species of nonvenomous, semiaquatic, colubrid snake endemic to the southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern dwarf siren</span> Species of amphibian

The southern dwarf siren, is a perennibranch salamander lacking hind legs. Found exclusively in Florida, it is one of two currently recognized species of dwarf sirens. Two subspecies are currently recognized; P. a. axanthus, the narrow-striped dwarf siren, and P. a. belli, the Everglades dwarf siren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackbelly salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The blackbelly salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junaluska salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Junaluska salamander is a species of lungless salamander native to the south-eastern United States. It was first described by David M. Sever, Harold M. Dundee, and Charles D. Sullivan who found the species in the range from the Cheoah River, Santeetlah Creek, and Tululah Creek in Graham County of North Carolina. Adults of this species can be found near large, rocky streams and on rainy nights on roads in the areas specified. The salamander is characterized by brownish-yellow coloration with a series of small dots along the body and a robust build compared to the other salamanders in Eurycea. The Junaluska salamander's breeding habits tend to be in large streams where the eggs are laid and attached to the bottom of rocks in the streams where they are found. According to the overall conservation listing for IUCN, this species is listed as Vulnerable. Conservation acts are important in both North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, since the population of this species in each state is so small.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weller's salamander</span> Species of amphibian

Weller's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other Plethodon species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The red salamander is a species of salamander in the family (Plethodontidae) endemic to the eastern United States. Its skin is orange/red with random black spots. Its habitats are temperate forests, small creeks, ponds, forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater, trees springs. Overall this species is common and widespread, but locally it has declined because of habitat loss and it is considered threatened in Indiana and New York. Red salamanders eat insects, earthworms, spiders, small crustaceans, snails, and smaller salamanders. To eat, they extend their tongue to capture prey on the tip of it and retract it back into their mouths. The red salamander, as a member of the family Plethodontidae lacks lungs and respires through its skin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reticulated siren</span> Species of amphibian

The reticulated siren, also known as the leopard siren or colloquially as the leopard eel, is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Sirenidae. The species, which is endemic to the southeastern United States, was first formally described in 2018. This cryptic salamander is known only from three localities in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle and is one of the largest animals in the United States to be newly described in the past 100 years.

References

  1. ↑ Fossilworks
  2. ↑ Parra-Olea, G.; Wake, D.; Hammerson, G.A. (2008). "Siren lacertina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T59492A11937094. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T59492A11937094.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ↑ https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106536/Siren_lacertina
  4. ↑ Luhring, Thomas Marshall. Population ecology of greater siren, Siren lacertina. OCLC   1256711146.
  5. 1 2 Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology (Fourth ed.). London: Elsevier. ISBN   978-0-12-386919-7.
  6. ↑ Heisler, N.; Forcht, G.; Ultsch, G.R.; Anderson, J.F. (1982). "Acid-base regulation in response to environmental hypercapnia in two aquatic salamanders, Siren lacertina and Amphiuma means". Respiration Physiology. 49 (2): 141–58. doi:10.1016/0034-5687(82)90070-6. PMID   6815749.
  7. ↑ Greater Siren – North Carolina. Herpsofnc.org (2007-09-22). Retrieved on 2013-01-03.
  8. ↑ Siren intermedia. AmphibiaWeb (2003-12-04). Retrieved on 2013-01-03.
  9. ↑ Martin, Karen M.; Hutchison, Victor H. (1979). "Ventilatory Activity in Amphiuma tridactylum and Siren lacertina (Amphibia, Caudata)". Journal of Herpetology. 13 (4): 427–434. doi:10.2307/1563477. JSTOR   156347.
  10. ↑ Deyle, Anna C. (2011) Population Genetics of Amphiuma means and Siren lacertina in Central Florida. M.S. Thesis, University of South Florida
  11. 1 2 3 4 . "Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. University of Georgia.
  12. 1 2 3 4 McKenzie, Kimberley. "Siren lacertina". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 "Siren lacertina". Animal Diversity Web .
  14. ↑ Hill, Robert L.; Mendelson III, Joseph R.; Stabile, Jennifer L. (2015). "Direct Observation and Review of Herbivory in Sirenidae (Amphibia: Caudata)". Notes of the Southeastern Naturalist. 14 (1): N5–N9. doi:10.1656/058.014.0104. S2CID   86233204.
  15. ↑ Hanlin, Hugh G. (1978). "Food Habits of the Greater Siren, Siren lacertina, in an Alabama Coastal Plain Pond". Copeia. 1978 (2): 358–360. doi:10.2307/1443585. ISSN   0045-8511. JSTOR   1443585.
  16. ↑ Pryor, G. S., German, D. P., & Bjorndal, K. A. (2006). Gastrointestinal Fermentation in Greater Sirens (Siren lacertina). Journal of Herpetology, 40(1), 112–117. https://doi.org/10.1670/163-05A.1
  17. ↑ Luhring, Thomas. "POPULATION ECOLOGY OF GREATER SIREN, SIREN LACERTINA". esploro.libs.uga.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  18. ↑ Burch, Paul Randolph; Wood, John Thornton (1955). "The Salamander Siren lacertina Feeding on Clams and Snails". Copeia. 1955 (3): 255–256. doi:10.2307/1440485. ISSN   0045-8511. JSTOR   1440485.
  19. ↑ Snodgrass, Joel; Ackerman, Joel; Bryan, Albert; Burger, Joanna (1999). "Influence of hydroperiod, isolation, and heterospecifics on the distribution of aquatic salamanders (Siren and Amphiuma) among depression wetlands". Copeia. 1999 (1): 107–113. doi:10.2307/1447391. JSTOR   1447391.
  20. ↑ Etheridge, Kay (1990). "The Energetics of Estivating Sirenid Salamanders (Siren lacertina and pseudobranchus striatus)". Herpetologica. 46 (4): 407–414. ISSN   0018-0831. JSTOR   3892939.
  21. ↑ Schalk, Christopher M.; Crawford, Brian A.; Luhring, Thomas M. (2009). "A Note on Predation of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina)". Bulletin of Chicago Herptologica. 44 (4).
  22. ↑ Tomaschke, Phillip (2023). "The Greater Siren: An Overview of Captive Care and Breeding". Responsible Herpetoculture Journal. 1 (7): 9–15.
  23. 1 2 3 IUCN. "Siren lacertina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  24. ↑ Luhring; Crawford, B.; Schalk, C. (2010). "Summer micrhabitat use of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) and Two-toed amphiuma (Amlphiuma means) in an isolated wetland". Amphibia Reptilia. 2010 (2): 251–256. doi: 10.1163/156853810791069155 .
  25. ↑ Martof, Bernard S. (1973). "Siren lacertina Linnaeus Greater Siren". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles.
  26. ↑ Johnson, Steve A.; Barichivich, William J. (2004-06-01). "A Simple Technique for Trapping Siren Iacertina, Amphiuma means, and Other Aquatic Vertebrates". Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 19 (2): 263–269. doi:10.1080/02705060.2004.9664540. ISSN   0270-5060. S2CID   22870356.
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