Skip to main content

Greater Siren

Siren lacertina
While it looks like an Eel, today's animal is actually an amphibian-- related to frogs, toads, and salamanders. The Greater Siren is its common name, and it is one of three water-living, practically leg-less Siren species.

The legs are there, but they are very, very small, and can sometimes be totally obscured by the large external gills that these creature have. These creatures are typically brown or black, and have faint stripes as juveniles (though they lose them over time).

Greater Sirens are some of the largest Amphibians found in North America-- they can grow up to 1m in length! They are found in the freshwater rivers and lakes of the southeast United States, where they hunt crayfish, small fish, snails, and other aquatic invertebrates.

The reproductive habits of these Amphibians is unknown. Mating has never been observed! They don't have the organs that typically go along with internal fertilization, but they lay their eggs like an internally fertilized amphibian would. Mysterious!
IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : North America
Size : Length up to 1m
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Amphibia -- Order : Caudata
Family : Sirenidae -- Genus : Siren -- Species : S. lacertina
Image : USGS
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a
60 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Binturong

The Binturong ( Arctictis binturong ) also has an equally awesome alternate common name, the Bearcat! However, it really isn't much of a bear OR a cat. While it is true that it is part of the Feliforma suborder, it is not a member of family Felidae. Binturongs are a part of their own family, Viverridae, which is shared with Civets, Linsangs, and Genets. There are six subspecies of Binturong, all of which have slight differences based upon location and habitat. Binturongs range in body size from 60-100cm in length, (not including their tail which has roughly the same length) and weigh between 20 and 30lbs. Binturongs are nocturnal animals native to the rain forests of South East Asia. The species range spans through several countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are tree dwelling mammals, and have fully prehensile tails that basically double their body length and can be used to cling to the trees or to grasp food. Binturongs are phe
Post a Comment
Read more