siren
1
9.9
A long salamander with small front legs, no back legs, and external gills that stay for life
- noun
- /ˈsaɪrən/
- Specialized
:
sirena
- With its external gills and eel-like shape, the siren is a unique example of aquatic salamanders.
Examples
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The siren has a long, slender body and can often be found in the waters of the Southeast United States.
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In the murky lake, we spotted a siren swimming gracefully among the weeds.
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The songs of silver-tailed sirens from the distant reefs, the high, wild, gladsome pipes of Faerie that partnered us in our moonlight dances!
Fiction book (2000)
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word siren for the water salamander was named after the mythic sirens because it lives in water and was thought to make strange sounds, so a helpful way to remember it is to think of a small 'water singer' rather than an alarm or a temptress.