Spectacled Caiman
| Spectacled Caiman | ||||||||||||
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Spectacled Caiman ( Caiman yacare ) |
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| Caiman yacare | ||||||||||||
| ( Daudin , 1801) |
The (southern) spectacled caiman ( Caiman yacare , Syn . : Caiman crocodilus yacara ) belongs to the family of alligators (Alligatoridae). It was long considered a subspecies of the crocodile caiman (Northern Spectacled Caiman), but is now recognized as a separate species.
features
The back of the spectacled caiman is dark olive colored, but the belly side is lighter and greenish-yellow to white. He has a prominent bony bulge in front of his eyes, is usually two meters long and weighs 60 kg. The maximum height given in the literature is 2.70 m.
Way of life
The spectacled caiman lives in many fresh waters and rarely leaves the water, and if so, only when the drought forces it to bury itself in the mud. It floats on the surface during the day and becomes more active at night. Adult spectacled caimans eat fish, other reptiles, amphibians and water birds. The males are territorial and have a hierarchy. It is around 60 years old, sometimes even supposedly 100. In winter, spectacled caimans often refuse to eat for one and a half to two months, but then eat greedily again.
Reproduction
The sexual maturity reach females with a length of about 120 cm to 150 cm males with about 160th The females lay 14 to 40 eggs in mound nests. These piles are made up of rotting plants and soil and lie on the bank or on floating vegetation. Sometimes several females share a nest and defend it against enemies. The incubation period is on average 85 to 90 days. Shortly before hatching, the female opens the clutch and helps the young animals to hatch. The young animals have a yellowish to brownish color, which is interrupted by dark transverse bands. Even after hatching, they stay close to their mother and are protected by her. Nevertheless, many of the young caimans fall victim to snakes and especially Tejus . The young animals mainly feed on insects , mollusks and crustaceans . They also like to eat smaller fish . The animals are fully grown at around 5 years of age.
Occurrence
Spectacled caimans are common in large parts of South America . They have been observed in Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil, and Paraguay . They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters, especially slow-flowing waters with muddy subsoil and thick vegetation. But they also feel at home in lakes, ponds and swamps. They have also been observed in brackish water .
Duration
In the past, spectacled caimans were heavily hunted for their skin. In the recent past they have benefited from artificial waters and their population has increased again, so that the spectacled caiman is a common reptile today.
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- ↑ Caiman yacare in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Crocodile Specialist Group, 1996. Accessed on 21 February, 2007.
