English             -             Broad-Snouted Caiman

Portuguese     -              Jacaré de Papo Amarelo 

Latin                -              Caiman latirostris          

The Broad-Snouted Caiman is a medium-sized crocodilian, recognised by its exceptionally broad snout that is nearly as wide at the eyes as it is long . A medium-sized crocodilian, the broad-snouted caiman grows up to 3.5 metres in length and can weigh up to 62 kg. The upper parts are heavily covered in horny scales, plates and ridges, with a distinctive fold that runs down the snout. Adult Broad-Snouted Caimans tend to be pale olive green with uniformly light underparts, although older animals are nearly black. Juveniles are brownish olive, with dark stripes on the back and dark blotches on the head and sides of the lower jaw.

The Broad-Snouted Caiman has a distribution range including: Argentina (north), Bolivia, Brazil (southeast), Paraguay and Uruguay. The Broad-Snouted Caiman is a highly aquatic species which is found primarily in mangroves, marshes and swamps (freshwater and brackish) throughout its distribution, together with habitat associated with numerous small Atlantic river drainages.

The Broad-Snouted Caiman specialises in aquatic snails, but will also take a wide variety of other invertebrates and small vertebrates. (e.g. fish, amphibians) Larger Broad-Snouted Caiman are able to take larger prey like larger fish, birds, reptiles and their jaws are well-suited to crushing turtle shells.

 Broad-Snouted Caimans nests during the rainy season, when decaying vegetation is collected from around a nest site and scraped into a mound. The male assists with constructing the mound nest, but the female becomes more aggressive as incubation continues, and only the female tends the nest. The female Broad-Snouted Caiman lays between 18 to 50 eggs at a time. In rare cases up to 129 eggs have been found within a single nest, presumably from several layings 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. 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 or higher) develop into females and eggs at cooler temperatures (31 °C or lower) develop into males. After an incubation period of around 70 days, the female breaks open the nest and carries the hatchlings in her mouth to the water. For their first year, the hatchlings cluster together in water close to the nest, all the time being closely attended by both the adults for protection from predators. 

Broad-Snouted Caiman are listed as a species “of Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.The greatest threat to the Broad-Snouted Caiman now is habitat loss but once it was illegal hunting for its hide, and this exploitation was particularly destructive during the middle of the 20th century. Illegal hunting still persists in some areas, such as in north-eastern Brazil, where the broad-snouted caiman supplies meat for local markets in small cities along the São Francisco River basin. However, it is not considered a major threat to the species anymore. This is mainly because the broad-snouted caiman is now harder to find, making hunting less attractive and more costly when traders can obtain better quality legal skins. Populations in Bolivia, however, are severely depleted, most likely as a result of continued hunting. 

Photos of the Broad-Snouted Caiman were taken at Parque das Aves - Foz do Iguacu - Parana.

T