joeymullica's Identifications

I found this siren in a shallow ditch near my house. It was moving around beneath the culvert where water was flowing from. I briefly put the siren in a bucket to improve identification. I first noticed that it had a snake-like body and two small forelimbs right below its head. It had a greenish-grey color on the dorsal portion of the body and a yellow color on its sides and underbelly. Black spots covered the entirety of its body. It was roughly 45.72 cm in length and 5.08 cm thick around the biggest part of its body. The eyes were very small and it had dark red, external gills. I suspect it fell into the ditch after being pushed out by flood water flowing from a nearby lake. Lesser sirens can commonly be found in Mexico and the Eastern United States in swamp and wetland areas. One of the identifying aspects of lesser sirens compared to other siren species is the number of costal grooves, with a number between 31 and 38. This siren had 31, meaning it likely was a lesser siren. The siren was released back where it was found once I had finished taking pictures.
Reference:
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Siren_intermedia/