Natural Highlights: Lesser Siren
The Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia) is a dark aquatic salamander with feathery external gills, two tiny front legs, and no rear limbs at all, which lives in the sluggish back channels and wetlands of the Wolf River. It can reach a length of a foot or more, resembling an eel at first glance. Like amphibians everywhere, it is adapted to the changeable wet-dry conditions that prevail in many wetland habitats. The Lesser Siren uses its gills for breathing underwater, for example, but is also able to travel overland to feed terrestrially on occasion and can also seal itself up in a kind of cocoon during a long dry spell and wait for the rains to come. Lesser Sirens eat a wide variety of smaller invertebrates – crustaceans, worms, snails, and the like – and are in turn consumed by wading birds, fish, and other predators. All of the organisms in this intricate food web depend on healthy wetlands and good water quality, the habitats prioritized by the Wolf River Conservation for conservation.
For more information on Lesser Sirens, see the following links:
www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/amphibians/salamanders/lesser-siren.html
srelherp.uga.edu/salamanders/sirint.htm
The Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia) is a dark aquatic salamander with feathery external gills, two tiny front legs, and no rear limbs at all, which lives in the sluggish back channels and wetlands of the Wolf River.
