Cuvier Dwarf Caiman

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: • Adults of this species are dark brownish-black • Cuvier’s dwarf caiman is native to tropical with a dark brown head, while juveniles are northern and central South America. brown with black bands. • It is present in the drainages of the Orinoco • Their head has an unusual shape for a River, the São Francisco River, and the Amazon crocodilian, with a dome-shaped skull and River, and the upper reaches of the Paraná a short, smooth, concave snout, the shape River and the Paraguay River! resembling the head of a dog! • Cuvier’s dwarf caiman is a freshwater species • Their neck is relatively slender and the and is found in forested habitats and areas dorsal scutes are less prominent than seen of flooded forest around lakes. on the smooth-fronted caiman. The double • They seem to prefer rivers and streams rows of scutes on the tail are small and with fast-flowing water, but it is also found project vertically. in quiet, nutrient-poor waters in Venezuela and southeastern Brazil. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: • Cuvier’s dwarf caiman is the smallest living DIET: New World crocodilian. • The diet differs for the young and adults. • Males grow to a maximum length around 5.2ft, • The young feed on insects, crabs, frogs, while females do not usually exceed 3ft 11inch tadpoles, shrimp, snails and small fish. in size! • Adults feed on fish, frogs, tadpoles, snails, • An adult typically weighs around 13 to 15lbs! small mammals and a wide variety of insects. • Though somewhat undetermined, current • Their prey is usually swallowed whole estimates place their life expectancy at or in large pieces. 30-40 years! REPRODUCTION: • Female caimans build nests using soil mixed with rotten and green leaves, FUN FACTS: grasses and twigs. • Cuvier’s dwarf caiman was first described • The eggs are incubated for about 2.5 – by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier in 3 months and during this time the mother 1807. guards the nest. • It is suggested that Cuvier’s dwarf • The nest is opened by the female in response caimans are one of the world’s most to vocalizations of the young. abundant crocodilians. • After the young hatch from their eggs, they stay beneath the debris of the nest for several days before venturing out on their own.