Broad-snouted caiman

Species of reptile

The broad snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) is a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae found in eastern and central South America, including southeastern Brazil, northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. It is the second largest caiman and the third largest alligatorid. It is found mostly in freshwater marshes, swamps, and mangroves, usually in still or very slow moving waters. It will often use man made cow ponds.

The broad snouted caiman is one of three extant (living) species of the genus Caiman, the other two being the Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and the Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare). There are also several extinct fossil species in the genus Caiman, possibly up to eight species. The broad snouted caiman is a member of the caiman subfamily Caimaninae, and is one of six living species of caiman. Its relationship to the other caimans can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA based phylogenetic studies:

In the wild, adults normally grow to in length, but a few old males have been recorded to reach up to Captive adults have weighed A large adult male of would weigh around Most tend to be of a light olive green color. A few individuals have spots on their faces.

The broad snouted caiman is ectothermic, depending on its external environment to regulate its body temperature. Its heart rate increases as the temperature increases and decreases when the temperature is lowered. The heat of the sun is absorbed through the skin into the blood, keeping its body temperature up. An increased heart rate helps the newly absorbed heat transfer throughout the body more quickly. When the air becomes cooler, the need for the heart rate to remain elevated is lost. As the size of C. latirostris increases, the size of its prey tends to increase. Young broad snouted caimans have a diet consisting of mostly insects; however, as the caiman grows, it increases its intake of birds, fish, amphibians, Captive specimens have been documented and photographed devouring the fruit of Philodendron bipinnatifidum without external stimulation, though it is unclear if this is because of them being housed with tegu or a natural behaviour. A later study also concluded that C. latirostris and its relatives are obligate omnivores, and play an important role in the dispersal of plant seeds in their habitats.

The female lays 18 to 50 eggs at a time. While rare, up to 129 eggs have been found within a single nest, presumably from several layings. Estrogen levels and stress levels of the mother can have an effect. Nests reared at the same temperature can differ in sex ratio. This indicates there are other factor that contribute to a nest having male or female eggs.

Hunting of the species began in the 1940s. Its skin is greatly valued for its smooth texture. Until most countries made hunting them illegal, this was the largest threat to the broad snouted caiman. The ban on hunting helped them to regain their population. The new threat is habitat destruction. Deforestation and pollution run off are the two leading causes to the destruction of their habitat. The species is well known from the lagoons of the urban areas of Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes in Rio de Janeiro.