After years of searching for what was rumored to be a giant salamander living in the swamps of the Florida panhandle and southern Alabama, a team of researchers have found it, and recently published a paper describing for the first time this entirely new species they named the reticulated siren. This giant new salamander species, which can grow up to 2 feet long, is one of the largest new species to be described in the U.S. in more than a century.
We're joined by Dr. Sean Graham, Assistant Professor of Biology, Geology, & Physical Sciences at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, to learn more about the reticulated siren, and the years-long search to discover it.