Broad-snouted caiman

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Broad-snouted caiman
Caiman latirostris

Caiman latirostris

Systematics
without rank: Archosauria
Order : Crocodiles (crocodylia)
Family : Alligators (Alligatoridae)
Subfamily : Caimans (Caimaninae)
Genre : Real caimans ( caiman )
Type : Broad-snouted caiman
Scientific name
Caiman latirostris
( Daudin , 1801)

The broad- snouted caiman ( Caiman latirostris ) is a species from the alligator family .

features

The broad-snouted caiman reaches a maximum body length of about 3.50 meters. Most of the males, however, rarely become over three meters long, the females usually only stay about two meters long. It is evenly colored gray to olive brown. The snout of this caiman is very broad and blunt and has dark markings on the jaws, which can lead to confusion with the caiman ( Caiman yacare ).

Subspecies

Two subspecies are known:

distribution

distribution

The broad-snouted caiman is found mainly in large and shallow freshwater swamps , but can also be found in mangroves , lakes or river areas. Its distribution area is on the east coast of South America from the Brazilian Rio Grande do Norte to southern Uruguay and also in the basins of São Francisco , Rio Doce , Paraíba , Paraná and the Río Paraguay in the border area of ​​Brazil and Argentina .

Way of life

Large-snouted caimans build mound nests out of soil and plant material, in which they lay 30 to 60 eggs.

The young animals mainly feed on insects and snails . In addition, their food spectrum includes crustaceans and fish, as well as birds and small mammals in larger specimens .

literature

  • Charles A. Ross (Ed.): Crocodiles and Alligators. 2nd Edition. Orbis-Verlag, Niedernhausen / Ts. 2002, ISBN 3-572-01319-4 .
  • Joachim Brock: Crocodiles. A life with armored lizards. Natur-und-Tier-Verlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-931587-11-8 .

Web links

Commons : Breitschnauzenkaiman ( Caiman latirostris )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files