Unraveling Siren (Caudata: Sirenidae) systematics and description of a small, seepage specialist.

For approximately four decades, scientists have known of the existence of several undescribed species of Siren in the southeastern United States Coastal Plain. One of these species, S. reticulata, was recently described, but a small, seepage-dwelling species has remained undescribed until now. To resolve outstanding questions concerning the phylogeny of Siren, we collected sequence and morphometric data from specimens across the range of Siren. We found S. lacertina and S. reticulata to represent strongly supported monophyletic groups, with S. reticulata having a sister relationship to all other Siren. Additionally, we found five distinct mtDNA lineages within what has been recognized as S. intermedia. Siren lacertina and type-locality S. intermedia (lineage A) are sister mtDNA lineages, whereas S. intermedia lineages B and C show a high level of mitogenomic divergence from type-locality S. intermedia. Analyses of two scnDNA loci revealed that S. lacertina is monophyletic but nested with low positional support in a clade including the three S. intermedia mtDNA lineages. Further study is needed to determine whether S. intermedia lineages A, B, and C represent distinct species or incompletely sorted lineages. We restrict the range of S. intermedia to the region from the Escambia and Perdido river drainages of Florida and Alabama eastward through Virginia (the combined ranges of lineages A, B, and C). We also elevate S. i. nettingi (lineage E) to species status and include the larger S. i. texana form in that taxon, generating a species that occurs from the Mobile Bay drainages westward through the Mississippi Basin and southwest into northeastern Mexico. Lastly, we describe a new miniature species, S. sphagnicola, that ranges from the Florida Parishes of Louisiana eastward to the westernmost tributary creeks of Choctawhatchee Bay in the western Florida panhandle.

Thirst and drinking in North American watersnakes (Nerodia spp.).

We quantified drinking behavior in three species of North American watersnakes: Nerodia clarkii, which is a marine or brackish water amphibious species, and Nerodiafasciata and Nerodiataxispilota, both freshwater amphibious species. All three species have relatively small and similar thresholds of dehydration (TH, approximately -4% loss of body mass) that elicit thirst and drinking of fresh water. These species have higher thirst sensitivity than several species of hydrophiine and laticaudine sea snakes, which are characterized by much lower TH (greater dehydration, -9% to <-20%). Nerodia clarkii, which is often found in coastal oceanic water, refused to drink seawater, but drank fresh water when dehydrated. In separate trials involving dehydration of N. clarkii and N. fasciata that were concurrently fed fish at regular intervals, snakes eventually refused to eat at TH of approximately -12% of original body mass, but resumed eating after they were allowed to drink fresh water and rehydrate. The drinking behaviors of Nerodia corroborate previous data on the importance of fresh water for drinking, and they complement growing evidence that dietary water does not itself mitigate dehydration in snakes. These new data increase understanding of water relationships in the context of evolutionary transitions from land to sea, and they emphasize the importance of fresh water resources in the conservation of coastal and marine species of reptiles.