THE 
SIREN. 
Generic Character. 
Body two-footed, tailed, naked. 
Feet brachiate (/. e. placed in the manner of 
arms), and furnilhed with claws. 
Specific Ch a racter. 
SIREN with an eel-fhaped body, and ramified 
branchiae, or refpiratory organs. 
The Siren ftands eminently diftinguifhed in the lift 
of animals by the ambiguity of its characters, which 
are fuch as to have induced the great Linn^us to in- 
ftitute for it a new order of Amphibia, under the title 
of Meantes ; an order however which does not hand 
amongft the Amphibia in the Syftema Naturae, but is 
rjientjoned in a npte at the end of the fecond part of 
Vol. I. of that work. 
The genus with which the Siren has evidently the 
greateft poffible affinity, is that of Lacerta or Lizard. 
It even very much refembles the larva, or firft hate of 
a lacerta ; and it is ftill doubtful whether it may not 
really be fuch ; but it has never been obferved in any 
other ftate, and it has always two feet only, wdthout 
any appearance of a hind-pair. It likewife has all the 
characters of an animal in its complete ftate ; the feet 
in particular, are armed with claws, whereas the larvae 
of all the lacertae are without claws, or in the Limn^eacv 
phrafe, digitis muticis. The mouth has feveral rows 
of fmallifh teeth. 
This 
