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Dwarf Caiman
scientific name
Paleosuchus palpebrosus
size
Length:
males 4.9-5.2 ft, females 3.9 f
characteristics
Color:
Skin heavily armored with bone on back and stomach, protection from
predators and reduces injury in fast-flowing rivers and while walking
on land • short smooth head with high skull and upturned snout,
upper jaw overlaps lower jaw • juveniles brown with blank banding
,adults darker head chocolate brown • eye iris chocolate brown
• lower jaw has white bands
Face: teeth 78-82 short backward curved
Behavior:
burrows for long periods in day • travels over land at night •
lives singly or in pairs
reproduction/life
span
Nesting.
females nest in mounds of vegetation and mud built concealed and under
cover • clutch 10-25 eggs
Breeding season: not noted
Incubation: about 90 days
Hatchlings: hatchlings covered with slow-drying mucus • may not
enter water until end of first day • mother may open nest and move
young to water but no other care following hatching has been noted
diet
Wild: juvenile
- small invertebrates • adults – fish, crabs, mollusks, shrimp,
terrestrial invertebrates
Zoo:
habitat/range
Habitat:
freshwater forest areas • flooded forests • prefers clean,
faster flowing river areas
Range: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay,
Peru, Surinam, Venezuela
status
Cites II IUCN Low Risk
other
also called
Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, Cuvier’s smooth fronted caiman, Cachirré,
Jacaré pagua, Coea, Musky caiman
note
smallest
living crocodilian species• threatened by habitat destruction and
water pollution (from gold mining)
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