Yacare caiman

Yacare caiman
Temporal range: Late Miocene – Present, 11.6–0 Ma[1]
Mato Grosso, Brazil
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[3]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Alligatoridae
Subfamily: Caimaninae
Clade: Jacarea
Genus: Caiman
Species:
C. yacare
Binomial name
Caiman yacare
Daudin, 1802
Range (black)
Synonyms[4]
  • Crocodilus yacare
    Daudin, 1802
  • Caiman yacare
    — Schmidt, 1928
  • Jacaretinga crocodilus yacare
    — F. Werner, 1933
  • Caiman crocodilus yacare
    — L. Müller & Hellmich, 1936
  • Caiman yacare
    — Cei, 1993

The yacare caiman (Caiman yacare), also known commonly as the jacare caiman, Paraguayan caiman, piranha caiman, red caiman,[5] and southern spectacled caiman,[6] is a species of caiman, a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. The species is endemic to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Brown in color and covered with dark blotches, males grow to a total length (including tail) of 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) and weigh around 40–50 kg (88–110 lb); while females grow to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) long and about 15–20 kg (33–44 lb).[7] Typical habitats of this caiman include lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Its diet primarily consists of aquatic animals, such as snails, and occasionally land vertebrates. Mating occurs in the rainy season and eggs hatch in March, with young fending for themselves as soon as they hatch. The yacare caiman was hunted heavily for its skin to use for leather in the 1980s, which caused its population to decrease significantly. However, trading restrictions placed since have caused its population to increase. Its population in the Pantanal is about 10 million, and it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Campos, Z.; Llobet, A.; Magnusson, W.E.; Piña, C. (2020). "Caiman yacare". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T46586A3009881. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T46586A3009881.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ^ Species Caiman yacare at The Reptile Database
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference beardsley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference crocodilian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference growth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).