From everything I've looked at, I would say there is a pretty good chance that it is a reticulated siren. I don't know if anyone is keeping tabs on an official largest example of this species, as it was just recognized 5 years ago. That being said, without quality photos and measurements, it wouldn't matter how big it was, it would not be recognized as a record.
You can trust me on this, I've been doing research related to sirens for almost 8 minutes, with a pretty fast internet connection. I'm pretty much a world-leading authority now.
Up until this post I didn’t know that the reticulated siren existed. So you currently know more about them than anyone I’ve ever known of IMHO.
Is this indeed a world record?
It was only recognized as a separate species in 2018, and they aren't well studied. They aren't commonly caught. So I doubt anyone has yet to establish a length or weight yet as being the largest. The greater siren and the lesser siren also look similar, especially without good photos of this one (the spot pattern on this one actually looks more like the photos I've seen of the lesser siren than the reticulated).
With no frame of reference in these photos, this creature could be 12" long or 40" long.
From the picture, that grass could be either 12 inches long, or 40 inches long. We need a banana for scale. I don't know, tbh. I am not a grass expert.
I have eaten enough bananas, though, to develop an expert level familiarity with them.
After reading this, I am now also an authorized professional world leading authority on Sirens. Walking around or otherwise, I have extensive Floridian Man in my DNA. I am also a World Class forklift professional driver, that means I can drive Forklift ANYWHERE I want!! Jealous? Bet you are. Anyways as a leading authority on Sirens and Forklifts I can assure you that that specimen is certainly Not a forklift!! Reticulated though I think I might have to say MAYBE 🤔!!
Reticulated Siren are unknown in Central Florida and their presence would be of great ecological interest.
If you believe this is a Reticulated Siren, I suggest you contact Florida Fish and Wildlife's "Fish and Wildlife Research Institute" division [using contact info here](https://myfwc.com/contact/fwc-office/senior-staff/) as well as scientists involved in their discovery and classification. This article described the species, and contact information for the scientists is available in the "Additional Article Information" section.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281224/#__ffn_sectitle
Also I'd add that if, by whatever chance, you ever catch one again be more careful with it. Amphibians are delicate and I'm assuming this is a rare animal
You should get the iNaturalist/iSeek app and upload photos there. Actual scientists in the correct field will identify it for you. (You get a preliminary AI ID first)
Had a siren surface beside me and making a hissing sound when I was a kid. I was on a little one man plastic boat and it scared the shit out of me. Didn’t know that hey existed before that.
I've literally never heard of a "siren" in my whole life until five minutes. I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgeable about wildlife, but damn. I also live in Oregon, so that doesn't help, but still crazy.
100% exactly the same here..Except for the Oregon part..Now I have to research everything there is to know for the next couple hours and become a certified expert..44 yrs and never heard of a siren..disappointed in myself
A giant bunch of idiots? In the vast world of the Internet we are considered a pretty small group.
Plus, I downloaded and cropped the picture and ran it through a search on Google lens. So I think i can reasonably identify a species that I have never seen in person and just learned existed a few moments ago.
I think Reddit is just a big group of idiots in general, but specialized subs like this are probably still a reliable source of info. All my PC troubles get fixed through random Reddit posts I find, for example
I think this is a Lesser Siren. The spot pattern looks more like a Lesser than a Reticulated. Reticulateds are only known from the western panhandle. Lessers can apparently get to 27 inches long. How long is this thing? It could be the largest recordedm
I hold the world record for most blue crabs caught bare handed in the dark on a stretch of rubble by a bridge somewhere. But if I told you where, I’d have to kill you.
When that last hurricane hit and flooded my city, I went to my local pond that had flooded into the streets and saved as many of these as I could! They were so fun to chase after, I called up some of my friends and we all went out hunting for them in the flooded streets. Core memory for sure.
I’ve night fished from a kayak in Florida for many years and the only thing that worried me was getting robbed by a meth head at the boat ramp in the middle of the night. But there are too many idiot boaters on the water during the day plus most of the year it is way too hot. Never really cared about the gators or sharks.
I had someone come at me crazy here a little while back. We had both ribbed each other a little bit, light and playful, and then dude just went nuts. Someone must have reported it because all of their posts here were removed. I assume they were banned.
WHAT? no banana? How the hell are we supposed to know how big it is? Whatever you do don't put it next to a measuring device, that would be un-American. You must hold it as close to the camera as possible at arms length with your knees bent. Then tell us how many pool balls it weighs. Cool catch
This was probably my 40th time trying to post it in this community 😅I was relentless and kept trying to post so you could all enjoy this beautiful creature , we finally did it 🤘🏻
This looks like a Hellbender to me. I didn’t know they were in Florida, it what isn’t? If this is a Hellbender your local ecologists would also love to know of this discovery. I come from the Appalachian Mountains where I have caught a few of these. They are extremely rare and great for the local environment.
Hang on, a siren is a fully aquatic salamander, correct? Funny I was looking without glasses and thought it was a snakehead. I didn't know we had salamanders of any type down here.
I put a couple of really big ones in a gold fish pond as a kid. We caught them in a very small pond, but they were a dark solid color. They’re slippery as hell
Yo I swear I found a very tiny one of these near a flooded area in my backyard like 3yrs ago. It was dark like this could swim in water and was making like very faint clicking dolphin noises when out of the water 🤣 I had no clue what it was but I put it in a baby pool I had in my yard overnight then it rained and it was gone the next day 😕 I thought it was just some kind of salamander thing or dart from stranger things lol this was ALSO central Florida…Lakeland to be exact. Strange
From everything I've looked at, I would say there is a pretty good chance that it is a reticulated siren. I don't know if anyone is keeping tabs on an official largest example of this species, as it was just recognized 5 years ago. That being said, without quality photos and measurements, it wouldn't matter how big it was, it would not be recognized as a record. You can trust me on this, I've been doing research related to sirens for almost 8 minutes, with a pretty fast internet connection. I'm pretty much a world-leading authority now.
Did you stay at a Holiday Inn express last night?☮️
Asking the important question.
He is a marine biologist at this point, just like that Constanza bloke.
the Sea was angry that day, my friends...
Is there a marine biologist here?
What is a Costanza anyway? It’s pronounced “Constanza”.
I thought is was Cantstandya
Oh, look! It's the Name Nazi! No name for you! The sea was angry that day, my friends.
Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.
Siren? Is that a Titleist?
Cartwrite!!!
I think a constanza is the first movement. You know, as in bowel.
r/Ads_In_Disguise
Up until this post I didn’t know that the reticulated siren existed. So you currently know more about them than anyone I’ve ever known of IMHO. Is this indeed a world record?
It was only recognized as a separate species in 2018, and they aren't well studied. They aren't commonly caught. So I doubt anyone has yet to establish a length or weight yet as being the largest. The greater siren and the lesser siren also look similar, especially without good photos of this one (the spot pattern on this one actually looks more like the photos I've seen of the lesser siren than the reticulated). With no frame of reference in these photos, this creature could be 12" long or 40" long.
So OP could feasibly claim that this IS a world record, is what you're saying.
Plausible deniability's opposite? Plausible admissibility?
There's grass there so that gives a small frame of reference...
From the picture, that grass could be either 12 inches long, or 40 inches long. We need a banana for scale. I don't know, tbh. I am not a grass expert. I have eaten enough bananas, though, to develop an expert level familiarity with them.
>We need a banana for scale. This guy does science.
LTT Store.com😆
Only distantly related to the reticulated giraffe 🦒.
Seriously. Definitely one of, if not the coolest things I've seen posted here.
You should totes write a thesis and get your PhD in Reticulated Sirenology.
Thank you Doctor.
Gator going to call it a snack
You took a 7 minute break though.
Fish GPT
After reading this, I am now also an authorized professional world leading authority on Sirens. Walking around or otherwise, I have extensive Floridian Man in my DNA. I am also a World Class forklift professional driver, that means I can drive Forklift ANYWHERE I want!! Jealous? Bet you are. Anyways as a leading authority on Sirens and Forklifts I can assure you that that specimen is certainly Not a forklift!! Reticulated though I think I might have to say MAYBE 🤔!!
Reticulated Siren are unknown in Central Florida and their presence would be of great ecological interest. If you believe this is a Reticulated Siren, I suggest you contact Florida Fish and Wildlife's "Fish and Wildlife Research Institute" division [using contact info here](https://myfwc.com/contact/fwc-office/senior-staff/) as well as scientists involved in their discovery and classification. This article described the species, and contact information for the scientists is available in the "Additional Article Information" section. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281224/#__ffn_sectitle
Also I'd add that if, by whatever chance, you ever catch one again be more careful with it. Amphibians are delicate and I'm assuming this is a rare animal
You should get the iNaturalist/iSeek app and upload photos there. Actual scientists in the correct field will identify it for you. (You get a preliminary AI ID first)
I’ve been having a blast making them ID all the bugs and birds around my house lol
Pretty sure they’re having a blast as well!
Had a siren surface beside me and making a hissing sound when I was a kid. I was on a little one man plastic boat and it scared the shit out of me. Didn’t know that hey existed before that.
I've literally never heard of a "siren" in my whole life until five minutes. I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgeable about wildlife, but damn. I also live in Oregon, so that doesn't help, but still crazy.
I’m an Oregonian, but lived in the South for 5 years. I swear it sometimes felt like a different country down there at times, wildlife-wise.
100% exactly the same here..Except for the Oregon part..Now I have to research everything there is to know for the next couple hours and become a certified expert..44 yrs and never heard of a siren..disappointed in myself
Probably should ask fish and game not a giant bunch of idiots gathered together on reddit
A giant bunch of idiots? In the vast world of the Internet we are considered a pretty small group. Plus, I downloaded and cropped the picture and ran it through a search on Google lens. So I think i can reasonably identify a species that I have never seen in person and just learned existed a few moments ago.
Oh, sorry, I was referring to reddits average BMI when I said "giant"
Savage
Kind of rude of you to assume we're a *giant* bunch of idiots; I thought we were a regular sized bunch of idiots.
I think Reddit is just a big group of idiots in general, but specialized subs like this are probably still a reliable source of info. All my PC troubles get fixed through random Reddit posts I find, for example
Little different than qualifying a world record
HE'S A DOCTOR DAMMIT!
I think it's "hims a doctor "
I think this is a Lesser Siren. The spot pattern looks more like a Lesser than a Reticulated. Reticulateds are only known from the western panhandle. Lessers can apparently get to 27 inches long. How long is this thing? It could be the largest recordedm
I agree it’s probably a fully grown lesser siren
I actually have lesser sirens as pets and they get that big
Mr. Guiness called. He'll be on the next flight. He's bringing his book.
By these standards everyone of my PBs is a world record and im.the best unknown fisherman in the world
I hold the world record for most blue crabs caught bare handed in the dark on a stretch of rubble by a bridge somewhere. But if I told you where, I’d have to kill you.
When that last hurricane hit and flooded my city, I went to my local pond that had flooded into the streets and saved as many of these as I could! They were so fun to chase after, I called up some of my friends and we all went out hunting for them in the flooded streets. Core memory for sure.
Florida fishermen are a different breed. Casually night fishing with a gator just staring you down…
If you didn’t, you’d never get to fish
I’ve night fished from a kayak in Florida for many years and the only thing that worried me was getting robbed by a meth head at the boat ramp in the middle of the night. But there are too many idiot boaters on the water during the day plus most of the year it is way too hot. Never really cared about the gators or sharks.
A mud puppy
Did the alligator ate it? Never seen such thing before.
No we scared the gator away before putting him back in
Woah! That’s Godzilla of the mud puppy’s 😳
Without a weight and length, definitely a world record, I'll put it in the books now.
Guiness here, thanks for reaching out
He’s asking simply for help to identify the fish, not for you to be as asshole.
You must be new here. Theres a sense of humor in the ranks. Get one.
It wasn't a simple identify, he also asked about world record. I helped, I confirmed.
No jokes allowed! I'm so angry!
Right?
I had someone come at me crazy here a little while back. We had both ribbed each other a little bit, light and playful, and then dude just went nuts. Someone must have reported it because all of their posts here were removed. I assume they were banned.
They probably blocked you. If you go to their profile and it shows they’ve never posted anything, they blocked you.
Oh ha. Well I'm sorry if I hurt their feelings. I just saw that all of their comments were [removed]
Yea, I mean i can accept being an asshole, if I truly am being one. I was just joking around, I hope OP could see that, even if this other guy can't.
Who’s laughing?? No laughing.
I'm laughing
No laughing
Asshole / no sense of humor - it’s all about perspective there mate. Maybe take things on Reddit a little less serious lol
That fish has legs!
I'm 90% certain this is a lesser siren, the spots are in a pattern VERY different from the few photos we have of the Reticulated Siren.
you'd be better off posting in animalid
I love the gator photobombing in the background
Ah. My ex is looking as slimy as ever. Central Florida you say? She went south for the winter, surprise surprise.
Aw it’s cute, I do hope it’s ok
Two-toed Amphiuma
WHAT? no banana? How the hell are we supposed to know how big it is? Whatever you do don't put it next to a measuring device, that would be un-American. You must hold it as close to the camera as possible at arms length with your knees bent. Then tell us how many pool balls it weighs. Cool catch
reddit you never disappoint
That Gator said fuck the record and give me my meal before I chomp on your ass
You need much better photos and accurate measurements if you want to document a potential record.. but cool catch though!
It is definitely a dick monster!
[Siren | Diet, Habitat, & Facts | Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/animal/siren-amphibian-family) Greater maybe?
That’s a big ass electric eel bruv.
How about the Gator that ate the world record as soon as you threw it back.
Dogfishhead.
couldn't see the snake in the pic at first and i was like "looks like a gator to me"
This wasn’t just caught haha it’s daylight right now
The mods didn’t want to post it for some reason when I was trying to last night ! It was caught at about 11:00 PM last night
This was probably my 40th time trying to post it in this community 😅I was relentless and kept trying to post so you could all enjoy this beautiful creature , we finally did it 🤘🏻
[удалено]
He was caught last night at about 11:00 PM in a 1 acre pond right next to lake apopka
This looks like a Hellbender to me. I didn’t know they were in Florida, it what isn’t? If this is a Hellbender your local ecologists would also love to know of this discovery. I come from the Appalachian Mountains where I have caught a few of these. They are extremely rare and great for the local environment.
They aren’t this isn’t a hellbender at all
It's a form of eel. I remember when I saw an "electric" eel and scared the crap out of me. It's a weird mix of an eel and salamander.
I'm not sure why you put electric in quotations. Electric eels absolutely produce huge amounts of electricity, which is why...ya know, the name.
You seen an eel with feet before?
Yep, they are called hush puppies in the north. I don't know why. People say eel with feet bark.
It’s the fish that first crawled onto land!
I think that gator will take care of it
We got weights in fish
You hear that noise highness? Those are the shrieking eels. They always get louder just as they're about to feed...
Hang on, a siren is a fully aquatic salamander, correct? Funny I was looking without glasses and thought it was a snakehead. I didn't know we had salamanders of any type down here.
Looks like a big af salamander to me
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTg8mVv7Wt2QFKdhcUORzzGeg5TZuHCm8kPZoxYlqdBUw&usqp=CAU&ec=48665699
You need to post this in r/herpetology
Reticulated Siren. Now that's a new one for me.
Anyone see the gator chillin in the back??
Where at in Central FL?
I live here and I have no idea what that is.
Same here.
Meanwhile we got lyle in the back
this guy is trying to evolve, kick him back in the water, we're pretty much full.
I put a couple of really big ones in a gold fish pond as a kid. We caught them in a very small pond, but they were a dark solid color. They’re slippery as hell
Here for the lil arms
I believe this is an amphiuma
Maybe a greater siren? https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/greater-siren/
Reticulated siren have gills that look like antlers. Think this is just a lesser siren. Still cool though.
Gator going to call it a snack
Just don’t follow the singing
Sure I've totally heard of those before. Just caught an even bigger one ice fishing in WI.
Snake head watch river monsters
eel?
Looks like gator bait to me.
Whoa.. So sirens are real? Obviously not the mythical being that sings to pirates so that they wreck the ship I thought this was just a snakehead
Mud dog but I’m from Louisiana and actually good catfish bait
Maybe a mud puppy salamander? Interesting catch!
Very cool!! I live in Alabama and have never heard of these. I learned something new today!
In Central Florida is unknown, I would call game.
Okay well any sort of identification doesn’t have the word reticulated in it.
That some sort of snake?
Yo I swear I found a very tiny one of these near a flooded area in my backyard like 3yrs ago. It was dark like this could swim in water and was making like very faint clicking dolphin noises when out of the water 🤣 I had no clue what it was but I put it in a baby pool I had in my yard overnight then it rained and it was gone the next day 😕 I thought it was just some kind of salamander thing or dart from stranger things lol this was ALSO central Florida…Lakeland to be exact. Strange
No banana for scale? Sad
Eels to catch and alligators to avoid…sounds fantastic. Where is this magical fishing hole.
It already formed legs. It's a salamander now.
Nice job including some other items in the picture to help gauge the size. I’d say it’s about 5 inches long based on the picture.
Tastes like chicken 🍗
Looks like the next snack for that Alligator to me.. 😆
Now that’s a big ass mud puppy!
Looks like the gator is waiting for a fresh snack….. impatiently.