| Siren Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Lesser siren, Siren intermedia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Sirenidae |
| Genus: | Siren Linnaeus, 1766 [note 1] |
| Type species | |
| Siren lacertina Linnaeus, 1766 | |
Siren is a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae. [1] [2] The genus consists of five living species, along with one extinct species from the Eocene Epoch and three from the Miocene.
The living species have elongated, eel-like bodies, with two small vestigial fore legs.
Siren intermedia, the lesser siren, has been seen as both a colonizer and a dominant species, in a single community, at two different succession stages. [5] In Texas, during the 1970s, the species was found to have removed at least 283 individuals from a beaver pond, over a four year period. [6]
Extant (living) species include: [1]