Caiman is a genus of caimans within the alligatorid subfamily Caimaninae. They inhabit Central and South America. They are relatively small crocodilians, with most species reaching lengths of only a few meters, although one species, the black caiman, can exceed 4 m (13 ft) in length.[1]
| Caiman | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yacare caiman, Caiman yacare | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
| Clade: | Archosauriformes |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Alligatoridae |
| Clade: | Jacarea |
| Genus: | Caiman Spix, 1825 |
| Type species | |
| Caiman fissipes Spix, 1825
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Distribution and habitat
Caimans in this genus are native to Central and South America. The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) occurs in Central America and parts of the northern half of South America at altitudes of up to about 800 m (2,600 ft). It is usually found in freshwater, but also visits the brackish water of estuaries on occasion. It has varying habitats including wetlands and slow-moving rivers and streams.[2] The Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare) occurs in the central part of southern South America, particularly in the Pantanal region, the largest tropical wetland area in the world, which is flooded seasonally by the Paraguay River.[3]
Taxonomy
- Genus Caiman
- Caiman wannlangstoni†[4]
- Caiman venezuelensis†[5]
- Yacare caiman, Caiman yacare
- Spectacled caiman, Caiman crocodilus
- Rio Apaporis caiman, C. c. apaporiensis
- Brown caiman, C. c. fuscus
- Caiman lutescans (extinct)
- Broad-snouted caiman, Caiman latirostris
References
- ^ Brochu, C. A. (1999). "Phylogenetics, Taxonomy, and Historical Biogeography of Alligatoroidea". Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir. 6: 9–100. doi:10.2307/3889340. JSTOR 3889340.
- ^ Terry, Kayla (2010). "Caiman crocodilus: Common caiman, spectacled caiman". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
- ^ Smith, Roff (2013-07-01). "Yacare caiman: The Comeback Croc". National Geographic. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
- ^ Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, John J. Flynn, Patrice Baby, Julia V. Tejada-Lara, Frank P. Wesselingh and Pierre-Olivier Antoine (2015). "A Miocene hyperdiverse crocodylian community reveals peculiar trophic dynamics in proto-Amazonian mega-wetlands". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1804): 20142490. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2490.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Costa Fortiera y Ascanio Daniel Rincón, Daniel (2012). "Pleistocene crocodylians from Venezuela, and the description of a new species of Caiman". Quaternary International. 305: 141–148. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.03.018.