# What is this?????



## wareagle1979 (Jun 22, 2005)

I caught this in my perch trap this morning, i thought it was a stump tail until I got a better look at it. It looked alot like a stump tail but it has "skin" like a catfish instead of scales, it also has "feelers" or legs behind his head and about 6" from his tale. From tip to tip he was about 2ft, he was not aggressive at all; I have NEVER seen anything like this. I googled waterdogs and mudpuppy's but he does not look like the pictures. Any help would be great.

Brian


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## NitroNX898 (Apr 7, 2009)

A fresh water eel


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## tooshallow17 (Apr 10, 2009)

salamander?


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## MissingSTexas (Oct 3, 2007)

X 2 on the eel... Any time you want to see dozens of them come run some crawfish traps in SWLA. Nasty stinken little boogers scared the bejeezus out of me after I first moved here from Rockport.


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

Eel.

Many moons ago,  , while digging and laying underground conduit in Hackberry, LA, every few feet one of them would come out of the dirt in the trench w/ ya. The first few times it would scare the tar out of ya. 

Good thing I had a sharp shovel in my hand.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

That is called a mud siren.


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## Andy_Holland_25 (Aug 8, 2007)

Boy that is a different looking critter...


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## bzrk180 (Jan 7, 2008)

HOLY ****!!! Man, that thing would have freaked me out!


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## grandpa cracker (Apr 7, 2006)

Ask Medulla for the recipe.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Since it has bvack legs its not a mud siren.t must be an eel.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I looked it up and it's an eel like critter called a ditch eel in Florida.


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## stonedawg (Feb 4, 2007)

Thats nice to find when ur pulling up ur perch trap.


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## wareagle1979 (Jun 22, 2005)

It was about a half second from getting shot. I carry an old Ruger single six when I run my traps, I had a bead on him when I noticed the catfish like skin.


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## dbullard (Feb 13, 2008)

*ugly!!!!!!!!!*


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## sabine lake hustler (Dec 17, 2007)

REALLY GOOD TASTING!! EXCELLENT WHITE MEAT!! I LIKE IT GRILLED WITH SWEET EEL SAUCE!! YOU CAN SEE THEM IN THE TANKS BY THE HUNDREDS AT HONG KONG MARKET IN HOUSTON.


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## i_love_a_big_bass (Mar 9, 2009)

Chupacabra


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Had it several times at the seafood food stalls in Shanghai, China. Best steamed with bok choy and lots of Chinese "Stump Buster Beer"

Taste like Chucken.

Sunbeam


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Some folks will eat anything, lol.
SS


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## JakeBrake (Jan 28, 2009)

back when I was a kid, I grew up in Mont Belvieu, TX and hurricane Alicia hit us. After the hurricane cotton bayou was flooded and my buddy and I would take hot-dog wieners down to the bridge and catch catfish. one day during the flood, we caught one of those things on rod and reel... I swear I was never more scared in my life when we pulled that dang thing outta the water... I never even knew they were around those parts.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Chupacabra! Now I'm scared.


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## huntinguy (Aug 22, 2005)

Yup, an eel. I've caught 'em on a line, in a crawfish trap, dug 'em up in the much and found 'em bedded under a chunk when picking them up after a water.

Know some folks that eat 'em but have never tried that myself.


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## crockerag (Nov 9, 2007)

Actual eels, as in the fish, do not have limbs :headknock . This is an amphibian related to salamanders. Look up an _Amphiuma tridactylum. _If you get a chance to look at the feet there should be three toes per foot like the species name implies. If it only has two toes then it is another species of _Amphiuma. _If it were a siren it would have only forelimbs and gills sticking out behind its head like other salamanders. The amphiuma does have gill slits.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

I wouldn't take timeot cleanit but if someone did I would try it. I east tons of sushi and loveit. I can see that tasting very good if prepared good.


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## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

Lung Fish.......

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://mongabay.com/images/20050916/lungfish_0364.JPG&imgrefurl=http://animals.mongabay.com/zoo/lungfish_0364.html&usg=__N7WWBY3XQ4xqQZRdMSBWu3Ekt6k=&h=402&w=600&sz=57&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=nWYAqH-lxSAmSM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlungfish%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGGLR,GGLR:2007-04,GGLR:en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1


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## RiverRat1962 (Mar 23, 2009)

*What is this?????*

Cut Bait! slice it into little steaks 1/4'' thick ann bait the trotline! LOL


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## perchjerkinrustin (May 28, 2008)

its called a siren...kinda like a water dog they eat crawl fish i catch them all the time.. good bass bait..If you work them off of deep points..or an a balloon at night.....


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## seattleman1969 (Jul 17, 2008)

It's not a siren, sirens do not have back legs as stated before on this thread. It's an amphiuma.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphiuma

Amphiuma is a genus of aquatic salamanders, the only extant genus within the family Amphiumidae. They are also known to fisherman as "conger eels" or "congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations. Amphiumas have one of the largest amounts of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human.

*Description*

Amphiumas have an elongated body, generally grey-black in color. They do have legs, but they are very small - while amphiumas can be up to 116 cm (46 in) long, their legs measure only up to about 2 cm (0.79 in). Therefore, they can resemble eels. They also lack eyelids or a tongue.[2]
Female amphiumas lay their eggs in wet mud, and then remain coiled around them for about five months, until they hatch. The larvae have external gills, but after about four months these external gills disappear and the lungs begin to work. One pair of gill slits, with fully functioning internal gills, is retained and never disappears, so the metamorphosis remains incomplete.[2]

*Distribution*

Amphiumas inhabit the southeastern part of the United States. They share much of the same distribution with the sirens, although they are not closely related.
In the past amphiumas have been further distributed. Fossils from the Pleistocene epoch show that they once were distributed in Europe as well.

*Behavior*

During the day amphiumas hide in vegetation, and at night they become active and go hunting. Their prey include frogs, snakes, fish, crustaceans, insects and even other amphiumas. If provoked they can become aggressive. They can be found in most wetlands in the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S., even ones which periodically dry, as they are able to aestivate in the moist mud below drained marshland and other ephemeral wetlands. Amphiuma are rarely encountered on land, but it is possible.


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## perchjerkinrustin (May 28, 2008)

it is a siren. trust me i know what im talking about ill go catch some and but them on here.


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## Tx HNT/FSH College Boy (Dec 4, 2008)

siren for sure


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## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

i_love_a_big_bass said:


> Chupacabra


Man, only your 4th post. You catch on quickly!

:rotfl:


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## wil.k (Aug 22, 2005)

It looks like a mud puppy to me.


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## seattleman1969 (Jul 17, 2008)

Man, you can lead a whole herd of horses to water but they already drank the siren/mudpuppy kool-aid so they refuse anything else.

It's an amphiuma. Read the articles, look at the pictures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphiuma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren_(amphibian)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteidae (Mud puppy)

In short:

Amphiuma - 4 tiny useless vestigial legs, gill slits but no external (Feather duster) gills
Siren - 2 tiny useless vestigial legs, obvious external gills
Mud puppy - 4 fully functional robust legs with 4 toes each, obvious external gills

Since there are no visible external gills and two sets of vestigial legs, it's an amphiuma.


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## perchjerkinrustin (May 28, 2008)

ya amphiuma thats what family it is under but it is called a siren.......


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## perchjerkinrustin (May 28, 2008)

well from the pic i only see two legs i dont see any front ones and so far with two legs its a siren if there are for then your right if not i am


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## Tricky Matt (May 8, 2008)

seattleman1969 said:


> It's an amphiuma.


Ding Ding!

I've got an awesome vidoe somewhere of an Egret trying to beat one to death before it eats it. I'll try to find it.


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## StanC (Aug 7, 2004)

eel alright used to catch them on my trotlines when i was a kid up in arkansas way scary when you pul that wiggeling sucker up at night


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## aggiemulletboy (May 31, 2006)

100% sure it is an amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum). They are also called congo eels. They are aquatic salamanders. Usually they are very ill tempered and have a very nasty bite. Really cool though...I still haven't found a live one. They are a favorite food of mudsnakes, though larger ones will surely make a meal of young mudsnakes.

To anyone that still thinks it is an American eel, there are no back "legs" on an eel and their pectoral fins look more like fins, not vestigal legs. Also, the dorsal/caudal/anal fin are confluent, and the amphiuma pictured lacks all of the above traits.


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## aggiemulletboy (May 31, 2006)

perchjerkinrustin said:


> well from the pic i only see two legs i dont see any front ones and so far with two legs its a siren if there are for then your right if not i am


Sirens only have front legs, not hind limbs. The picture appears to be of the posterior half of the animal. Therefore, it is obviously an amphiuma. As well, greater and lesser sirens have external gills much like a Necturus spp. (mudpuppies/waterdogs), which that animal in the picture clearly lacks. I have caught water dogs and sirens before, and that is definitely an amphiuma.


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## seattleman1969 (Jul 17, 2008)

aggiemulletboy said:


> Sirens only have front legs, not hind limbs. The picture appears to be of the posterior half of the animal. Therefore, it is obviously an amphiuma. As well, greater and lesser sirens have external gills much like a Necturus spp. (mudpuppies/waterdogs), which that animal in the picture clearly lacks. I have caught water dogs and sirens before, and that is definitely an amphiuma.


Thanks for the backup. I caught a LOT of them alive when I lived in the Trinity River bottoms outside of Dayton. Too many as a matter of fact. Checking our perch and crawfish traps we had at least one almost daily. What I've never personally caught is a siren, mainly because they are less of a hunter/forager and a lot less agressive I believe. I've always been an amateur herper and caught nearly every reptile/amphibian there is to catch in Texas with very few exceptions.


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## perchjerkinrustin (May 28, 2008)

ya well yall are right..but i catch alot of sirens out in are swap behind my high school and they only have to front legs which was what i ment to say earlier but what ever its cool.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Not a siren, it has back feet. As stated earlier it is in a different family, one common name is ditch eel, but it is not an eel. Seatlleman is telling it like it is.


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