Siren Reticulata

The reticulated siren (''Siren reticulata''), also known commonly 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.

Description

The reticulated siren is one of the largest species of extant (living) salamanders worldwide, reaching up to in total length, which rivals the hellbender of the Appalachian Mountains as both the largest amphibian in North America and the fourth largest salamander in the world. It has a greenish grey, eel-like body, large external gills, and two small front legs. The sides and belly are a lighter yellowish green. It has an average snout to vent length (SVL) of .

''S. reticulata'' differs from other '' Siren'' species in its skin patterning: a patchwork of dark, leopard-like spots covering its back. It also has a relatively smaller head and a longer tail. Genetic analysis from mitochondrial and nuclear sequencing supported it as a separate species from '' S. intermedia'' and '' S. lacertina'', and further suggested that additional species are yet to be discovered in this group.

Biology

Almost nothing is known about the life history or ecology of ''S. reticulata''.

Habitat

The habitat of ''S. reticulata'' includes wetlands within the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Discovery

The first known reticulated siren was collected in 1970, in Baldwin County, Alabama, described by herpetologist Robert Hughes Mount as not conforming to the typical physical description of ''S. lacertina''. It was not formally named at that time and was treated as somewhat of a legend, colloquially referred to as the "leopard eel". Another sighting of numerous individuals was made in the 1990s by the herpetologist John Jensen, who reportedly sighted dozens of reticulated sirens and amphiumas moving across a road during a rainstorm near Florala, Alabama.

In September 2009, American herpetologist David A. Steen was studying ''Nerodia'' (water snakes) and turtles at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida, when he captured a single specimen of ''S. reticulata'' in a crayfish trap. Additional trapping efforts between 2009 and 2014 were unsuccessful until three more sirens were found in June 2014 near Lake Jackson in Walton County, Florida. The reticulated siren is one of the largest animals in the United States to be newly described in the past 100 years.

Taxonomy

The leopard eel was formally described as ''Siren reticulata'' in December 2018. The specific epithet ''reticulata'' refers to the reticulated (meaning network-like or patchwork) patterning typical of this species. The authors of the 2018 paper coined the name reticulated siren as a "more appropriate formal common name", as it is neither a leopard nor an eel. It is one of three extant species in the genus ''Siren''.

The holotype is a female captured in Walton County, Florida, measuring from snout to vent and weighing . The type locality habitat was a shallow marsh vegetated with floating and emergent plants.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q59490209

Sirenoidea
Amphibians described in 2018
Amphibians of the United States
Endemic fauna of the Southeastern United States