The Northern Dwarf Siren, Pseudobranchus striatus is a perennibranch salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

 lacking hind legs. Found in the south-eastern United States, it one of two currently recognized species of dwarf sirens. Three subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 are currently recognized; P. s. striatus, the Broad-striped Dwarf Siren, P. s. lustricolus, the Gulf Hammock Dwarf Siren, and P. s. spheniscus, the Slender Dwarf Siren.

Description

The Northern Dwarf Siren is the smallest siren known at only 4-9 7/8" (10.2-25.1 cm). Like other members of the Sirenidae the Northern Dwarf Siren is aquatic and gilled throughout its life. Being slender and almost eel-like it is noticeable because of the light stripes on its side compared to the brown or light grey dorsum. The siren has only one gill

Gill

A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...

 slit, a finned tail (tip compressed), costal grooves, and three toes on each of the two front feet. They are very secretive and dwell among water hyacinth

Water hyacinth

The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in...

 roots and amid debris at pond bottoms. They feed on tiny invertebrates and during droughts encase themselves in mud beneath the pond

Pond

A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

 bottom. When handled or caught they make faint yelping noises.

Breeding

Northern Dwarf Sirens breed in the spring and gather in large numbers at the pond or spring they were born in. Male and female sirens can not be determined through external examination. The sirens fertilize externally and lay a large number of membrane-encolsed eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

. The eggs are laid singly on roots of aquatic plants and the larvae hatch about a month after they have been laid at about 5/8" (14 mm).

Habitat & Range

This particular siren tend to live in shallow ditches, cypress swamps, and weed-choked ponds. They live on the coastal plain of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

Subspecies

• Broad-Striped Northern Dwarf Siren (P. s. striatus): short and stocky with a broad dark-brown stripe down back with thin light vertebral stripe flanked by broad yellow or buff stripe. Found from southern South Carolina to northeast Florida.
• Slender Northern Dwarf Siren (P. s. spheniscus): narrow head, wedge-shaped snout, and two distinct tan or yellow stripes on both sides. Found in scattered locales in southwest Georgia and the Florida panhandle.
• Gulf Hammock Northern Dwarf Siren (P. s. lustricolus): a large and stout form with a flattened head and blunt snout. Three narrow light stripes within the wide dark stripe down back. Two side stripes (top one orange-brown, bottom silvery-white). This subspecies has not been seen since 1951 when it was originally described. It's known only from Levy and Citrus Counties, Florida.