Narrow-Striped Dwarf Siren (P. a. axanthus)
Description: Narrow-striped dwarf sirens are the smallest of the three siren species found in the southeastern United States. Generally, they are black, brown or gray. Their dark, slender bodies typically have faint yellow or tan stripes on the sides. They have triangular heads, feathery external gills and three toes on their two legs, which are located at the front of their bodies.
Habitat: They occur in open marshes, prairie ponds, and other permanent and semi-permanent aquatic habitats (Moler and Kezer 1993; Petranka 1998). Individuals are frequently found in floating mats of water hyacinth, a plant introduced to the region.
Range: This particular subspecies is found exclusively in Florida.
Found in these States:
FL
Diet: Aquatic insects and worms.
Reproduction: The dwarf siren reproduces in the water. Eggs are laid from early November through March and are typically attached to aquatic plants. It takes three weeks for larvae to hatch and two years to reach maturity.
Status: However, the habitat of dwarf sirens is threatened, and therefore populations are at risk, by development and agriculture which lead to the destruction of wetlands.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - (Amphibians)
»» Order: Caudata - Salamanders
»» Family: Sirenidae - Sirens
»» Genus: Pseudobranchus
»» Species: Pseudobranchus axanthus - Southern Dwarf Siren
»» Subspecies: P. a. axanthus - Narrow-Striped Dwarf Siren
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Southern Dwarf Siren", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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