Caiman latirostris

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subdivisio: Pseudosuchia
Superordo: Crocodylomorpha
Ordo: Crocodilia
Subordo: Eusuchia

Familia: Alligatoridae
Subfamilia: Caimaninae
Genus: Caiman
Species: Caiman latirostris
Subspecies (2): C. l. chacoensis – C. l. latirostris
Name

Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801)

Holotype: MNHN 7769; MNRJ 1258
Type locality: Joinvilla, Santa Catarina, Brasil (designated by Freiberg & Carvalho, 1965)

Synonymy

Crocodilus latirostris Daudin, 1802
Caiman fissipes Spix, 1825
Champsa fissipes Wagler, 1828 (fide Hoogmoed & Gruber, 1983)
Alligator cynocephalus Duméril & Bibron, 1836
Champsa fissipes — Gulliver, 1846
Jacare latirostris — Gray, 1862
Alligator latirostris — Strauch, 1866 (partim)
Alligator latirostris — Boulenger, 1886
Caiman latirostris - Boulenger, 1889 (partim)
Jacaretinga latirostris — Vaillant, 1898
Caiman latirostris latirostris — Freiberg & Carvalho, 1965
Caiman latirostris — Nickel & Auliya, 2004

References
Primary references

Daudin, F.M. 1801. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, des reptiles : ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini. Tome Second. L'Imprimerie de F. Dufart: Paris. 432 pp. + pls. XVI–XXVIII. BHL Reference page.

Links

[1] Listed animal in CITES Appendix I except the population of Argentina, which is in Appendix II
Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Caiman latirostris. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 18 October 2021.
IUCN: Caiman latirostris (Least Concern)
Caiman latirostris – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
български: Широкомуцунест кайман
Deutsch: Breitschnauzenkaiman
English: Broad-snouted caiman or Black Caiman
español: Yacaré overo
suomi: Leveäkuonokaimaani
français: Caïman à museau large
עברית: קיימן רחב חרטום
magyar: Sakáre-kajmán
日本語: クチヒロカイマン
Nederlands: Breedsnuitkaaiman
polski: Kajman szerokopyski
português: Jacaré-de-papo-amarelo
Türkçe: Geniş burunlu kayman

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.[4] It is found mostly in freshwater marshes, swamps, and mangroves, usually in still or very slow-moving waters.[5] It will often use man-made cow ponds.[6]

Characteristics

In the wild, adults normally grow to 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) in length, but a few old males have been recorded to reach up to 3.5 m (11 ft).[7][8] Captive adults were found to have weighed 29.2 to 62 kg (64 to 137 lb).[9] Most tend to be of a light olive-green color. A few individuals have spots on their faces.[10] The most notable physical characteristic is the broad snout from which its name is derived.[11] The snout is well adapted to rip through the dense vegetation of the marshes. Due to this, they swallow some of the dense vegetation while foraging for food.[12]
Caiman latirostris skeleton
Biology and behavior
Broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) on the border of pond in Bonito MS, Brazil

As the majority of sauropsids, the broad-snouted caiman is ectothermic, it depends on its external environment to regulate its body temperature. A recent study on the heart rate's contribution to the regulation of the caimans' body temperature showed an increase in heart rate as the temperature increased, and it lowers once the temperature lowered.[13] 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 at an increased rate is lost.[14]
Hunting and diet

Its diet consists mainly of small invertebrates, and it can crush shells to feed on turtles and snails.[15] As the size of C. latirostris increases, the size of its prey tends to increase. All young broad-snouted caimans have a diet consisting of mostly insects; however, as the caiman grows, it increases its intake of birds, fish, and reptiles.[16] 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.[17] A later study by another group 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.[18]
Reproduction

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.[19] They lay their eggs in two layers, with a slight temperature difference between the two layers. This will result in a more even ratio of males and females.[20] The caiman does not have sex chromosomes, but instead depends on temperature to determine the ratio of male and female offspring. Eggs at warmer temperatures (32 °C (90 °F) or higher) develop into males and eggs at cooler temperatures (31 °C (88 °F) or lower) develop into females.[21] There are more important factors that contribute to the sex determination of the eggs. Estrogen levels and stress levels of the mother can have an effect. There was a study conducted that concluded that every nest was different in sex although they contained the same temperature. This indicated there are other factor that contribute to a nest having all male or females eggs.[22]
Conservation

Hunting of the species began in the 1940s. Its skin is greatly valued for its smooth texture. Until most countries have made hunting them illegal, this was the largest threat to the broad-snouted caiman. This helped them to regain their population.[23] The new threat is habitat destruction.[24] Deforestation and pollution run-off are the two leading causes to the destruction of their habitat.[25]

It is a very well-known species in the lagoons of the urban areas of Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in Rio de Janeiro.1990 – Endangered (E) 1988 – Endangered (E) 1986 – Endangered (E) 1982 – Endangered (E)
Notes

Except population of Argentina which is included in Appendix II.

References

Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (6 September 2021). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9: e12094. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
Siroski, P.; Bassetti, L.A.B.; Piña, C.; Larriera, A. (2020). "Caiman latirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T46585A3009813. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T46585A3009813.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Crocodile Specialist Group (1996). "Caiman latirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T46585A11062418. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T46585A11062418.en.
Verdade,L.M. Alejandro,L. and Pina, C.I. "Broad-snouted Caiman Caiman latirostris . Animal Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/ActionPlan3/04_Caiman_latirostris.pdfIts[permanent dead link]. 2010. pp. 18-22.
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009.
Verdade,L.M. Alejandro,L. and Pina, C.I. "Broad-snouted Caiman Caiman latirostris . Animal Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/ActionPlan3/04_Caiman_latirostris.pdfIts[permanent dead link]. 2010. pp. 18-22.
"3.3 Caimans".
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009.
Borteiro, C. Gutierrez, F. Tedros, M. and Kolenc, F. Food habits of the Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman Latirostris:Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) in northwestern Uruguay. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. Vol. 44, No. 1, April 2009, 31-36.
Micheli, M.A. Campbell, H. A. Autonomic control of heart rate exhibits diurnal shifts in a crocodilian.Amphibia-Reptilia, Vol. 29 Issue 4, 2008. 567-571.
Micheli, M.A. Campbell, H. A. Autonomic control of heart rate exhibits diurnal shifts in a crocodilian.Amphibia-Reptilia, Vol. 29 Issue 4, 2008. 567-571.
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009.
Borteiro, C. Gutierrez, F. Tedros, M. and Kolenc, F. Food habits of the Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman Latirostris:Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) in northwestern Uruguay. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. Vol. 44, No. 1, April 2009, 33-35.
Brito et al. 2002. "Do caiman eat fruit?".http://www.rc.unesp.br/ib/zoologia/denis/Brito_et_al.pdf. 2002.
Platt, S.G; Elsey, R.M; Liu, H. (2013). "Frugivory and seed dispersal by crocodilians: an overlooked form of saurochory?". Journal of Zoology. 291 (2): 87–99. doi:10.1111/jzo.12052.
Verdade,L.M. Alejandro,L. and Pina, C.I. "Broad-snouted Caiman Caiman latirostris . Animal Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/ActionPlan3/04_Caiman_latirostris.pdfIts[permanent dead link]. 2010. pp. 18-22.
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009.
María Virginia Parachú Marcó, Pamela Leiva, Josefina Luciana Iungman, Melina Soledad Simoncini and Carlos Ignacio Piña (April 2017): New Evidence Characterizing Temperature-dependent Sex Determination in Broad-snouted Caiman, Caiman latirostris.
Simoncini, Melina (2019). "Influence of Temperature Variation on Incubation Period, Hatching Success, Sex Ratio, and Phenotypes in Caiman Latirostris". Experimental Zoology Part A:Ecological and Integrative Physiology. 331 (5): 299–307. doi:10.1002/jez.2265. PMID 31033236.
Verdade,L.M. Alejandro,L. and Pina, C.I. "Broad-snouted Caiman Caiman latirostris . Animal Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/ActionPlan3/04_Caiman_latirostris.pdfIts[permanent dead link]. 2010. pp. 18-22.
Verdade,L.M. Alejandro,L. and Pina, C.I. "Broad-snouted Caiman Caiman latirostris . Animal Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/ActionPlan3/04_Caiman_latirostris.pdfIts[permanent dead link]. 2010. pp. 18-22.
Britton, A. "Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1801). Crocodilian Species List.http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/csp_clat.htm. 2009.