The Kinosternidae are a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family contains 25 species within four genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies. They inhabit slow-moving bodies of water, often with soft, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation.
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.
Plestiodon anthracinus, the coal skink, is a species of lizard which is endemic to North America.
The greater siren is an eel-like 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.
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".
The double-striped thick-knee is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. The vernacular name refers to the prominent joints in the long greenish-grey legs, and bistriatus to the two stripes of the head pattern.
The Plymouth red-bellied turtle, sometimes called the Plymouth red-bellied cooter, is a disjunct population of northern red-bellied cooter endemic to Massachusetts.
Notophthalmus meridionalis, the black-spotted newt or Texas newt, is a species of aquatic newt native to northeastern Mexico and southern Texas in the United States. This amphibian was put on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species in 2008 with populations still decreasing. It was reclassified to Vulnerable in 2022.
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.
The pyjama shark or striped catshark is a species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to the coastal waters of South Africa. This abundant, bottom-dwelling species can be found from the intertidal zone to a depth of around 100 m (330 ft), particularly over rocky reefs and kelp beds. With a series of thick, parallel, dark stripes running along its stout body, the pyjama shark has an unmistakable appearance. It is additionally characterized by a short head and snout with a pair of slender barbels that do not reach the mouth, and two dorsal fins that are placed far back on the body. It can grow up to a length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long.
The Antilles catshark is a common but little-known species of catshark, part of the family Scyliorhinidae. It is found on or near the bottom at a depth of 293–695 m (961–2,280 ft) off Florida and the West Indies from Jamaica to Martinique. It was once regarded as a subspecies of the similar roughtail catshark, along with the longfin sawtail catshark. Growing to 46 cm (18 in) long, the Antilles catshark is a slender species with a marbled color pattern of dark saddles and blotches, as well as a crest of enlarge dermal denticles along the front part of its dorsal caudal fin margin. It feeds on shrimp and may have schooling habits. Reproduction is oviparous.
The northern sawtail catshark is a little-known species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to northeastern Australia. It is demersal in nature and inhabits the upper continental slope at a depth of 300–420 m (980–1,380 ft). A small, slender species growing no longer than 42 cm (17 in), the northern sawtail catshark is characterized by a series of dark, narrow saddles along its back and tail, and rows of prominently enlarged dermal denticles along the upper edge of its caudal fin and the underside of its caudal peduncle. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) does not yet have enough information to assess its conservation status.
Dwarf sirens are eel-like salamanders of the genus Pseudobranchus. Dwarf sirens possess external gills throughout adulthood and lack hind legs. Dwarf sirens can be distinguished from members of the genus Siren in that dwarf sirens have three toes on each foot rather than four. Like sirens, dwarf sirens are restricted to the Southeastern United States.
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.
The Caspian turtle or striped-neck terrapin is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (=Bataguridae), living in the eastern Mediterranean region from southwestern former USSR and central Iran to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel, and Lebanon, northward through Turkey to Bulgaria, and through Cyprus, Crete, and the Ionian Peninsula to former Yugoslavia.
The striped newt is a species of aquatic salamander native to the southeastern United States. It is a close relative of the eastern newt, with which it shares territory, and can be distinguished from the latter by the presence of red stripes running down the sides of its back and red spots on its back that lack a black outline.
The Mozambique ridged frog is a species of frog in the family Ptychadenidae. These frogs can swim fairly well, jump far and can crawl with ease through dense plants. Their strong hindlegs can launch them up to three metres into the air in a single bound.
The eastern river cooter is a subspecies of turtle native to the eastern United States, with a smaller population in the midwest. It is found in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Wilfred T. Neill (1922–2001) was an American herpetologist and author. His name survives in the scientific names of the central Florida crowned snake, Tantilla relicta neilli, and a Central American snail-eating snake, Sibon sanniolus neilli.
