siren

In Greek mythology, a sea nymph, half woman and half bird, who lured sailors to shipwreck along rocky coasts with her irresistable singing, before devouring them. Odysseus, on the advice of the enchantress Circe, tied himself to the mast of his ship in order to hear the sirens safely, and plugged his crew's ears with wax.

When the Argonauts sailed by, the singing of their companion Orpheus surpassed that of the sirens and the expedition escaped. Enraged, the nymphs threw themselves into the sea and were transformed into rocks.

siren

Tailed eel-like amphibians in the family Sirenidae. The species are characterized by having four-fingered forelimbs, three external gills on each side, no hind limbs, and no eyelids. The mud-eel Siren lacertina, is over 60 cm long/24 in long, and occurs in North America. It resembles Proteus except that teeth and hind limbs are absent.