THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Sirenidae  

Western Lesser Siren
Siren nettingi Goin, 1942
SY-ren — NET-ing-eye

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 This taxon was resurrected as a full species by Fedler et al. (2023, Zootaxa 5358: 351–378), and includes S. i. texana Goin, 1957, though this giant form from southern Texas and northern Mexico may represent a distinct species. (Pyron, R. Alexander, Christopher K. Beachy, David A. Beamer, and Kenneth M. Kozak. 2025. Caudata – Salamanders. Pages 10-21 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.08.14.08.25.53)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.83 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Arkansas Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Mississippi Missouri Oklahoma Tennessee Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of a prominent museum director and herpetologist.
Siren — From Greek Seirēn (Σειρήν), referring to the mythological sirens—part woman, part bird or fish—whose aquatic and mysterious nature inspired the genus name for these eel-like amphibians with reduced limbs.
nettingi — A patronym honoring M. Graham Netting (1904–1996), a herpetologist and longtime director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, known for his contributions to North American herpetology.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Netting's Dwarf Siren (Siren intermedia nettingi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1932 Noble, G. Kingsley and B. C. Marshall. The validity of Siren intermedia Leconte, with observations of its life history. American Museum Novitates (532):1-17
1942 Goin, Coleman J. Description of a new race of Siren intermedia Le Conte. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 29:211–217
1953 Davis, William B. and Frank T. Knapp. Notes on the salamander Siren intermedia. Copeia 1953(2):119-121
1957 Goin, Coleman J. Description of a new salamander of the genus Siren from the Rio Grande. Herpetologica 13:37-42
1961 Williams, John E. The Western Lesser Siren in Michigan. Copeia 1961(3):355
1968 Bennett, C. and R. J. Taylor. Notes on the lesser siren, Siren intermedia (Urodela). Southwestern Naturalist 13(4):455-457
1973 Martof, Bernard S. Siren intermedia. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (127):1-3
1974 Martof, Bernard S. Sirenidae. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (151):1-2
1974 Martof, Bernard S. Siren. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (152):1-2
1974 Leon, Pedro and James Kezer. The chromosomes of Siren intermedia nettingi (Goin) and their significance to comparative salamander karyology. Herpetologica 30:1-11
1986 Secor, Stephen M Recent capture of the Western Lesser Siren, Siren intermedia nettingi, in Oklahoma. Bulletin of the Oklahoma Herpetological Society 11(1-4):22-24
1986 Secor, Stephen M. The lesser siren, Siren intermedia, in Oklahoma. Bulletin of the Oklahoma Herpetological Society 11(1-4):25-31
1988 Sugg, Derrick W., Alvan A. Karlin, Charles R. Preston, and Darrell Heath. Morphological variation in a population of the salamander Siren intermedia nettingi. Journal of Herpetology 22(2):243-247
1992 Flores-Villela, Oscar and Ronald A. Brandon. Siren lacertina (Amphibia: Caudata) in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. Annals of Carnegie Museum 61(4):289-291
1996 Reilly, Stephen M. and Ronald Altig. Cranial ontogeny in Siren intermedia (Caudata: Sirenidae): paedomorphic, metamorphic, and novel patterns of heterochrony. Copeia 1996(1):29-41
2003 Gardner, James D. Revision of Habrosaurus Gilmore (Caudata: Sirenidae) and relationships among Sirenid salamanders. Paleontology 46(6):1009-1122
2014 Fouquette, Martin J., Jr. and Alain DuBois. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles: The United States and Canada. Xlibris, Bloomington, Indiana. 614pp.
2015 LaFortune, Taylor C. Species identification and habitat assessment of the South Texas siren. Thesis. University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, Texas. 91pp.
2022 Tighe, K. A. Catalog of type specimens of Recent Caudata and Gymnophiona in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (654):1–91
2023 Fedler, Matthew T., Kevin M. Enge, and Paul E. Moler. Unraveling Siren (Caudata:Sirenidae) systematics and description of a small, seepage specialist. Zootaxa 5258(4):351-378

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:59 CT