Jacarea

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Paleocene–Present, {{fossilrange|66|0}}

| taxon = Jacarea

| image = Caiman_yacare.jpg

| image_caption = Yacare caiman, Caiman yacare

| authority = Norell, 1988

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision =

Caiman
Melanosuchus
{{extinct}}Acresuchus
{{extinct}}Centenariosuchus
{{extinct}}Necrosuchus
{{extinct}}Purussaurus

}}

Jacarea is a clade of caimans within the subfamily Caimaninae. Jacarea was first named by Norell in 1988 to include the extant species within the genera Caiman and Melanosuchus, while excluding the dwarf caiman genus Paleosuchus.{{cite journal |last1=Rio |first1=Jonathan P. |last2=Mannion |first2=Philip D. |date=6 September 2021 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem |journal=PeerJ |volume=9 |pages=e12094 |doi=10.7717/peerj.12094 |pmid=34567843 |pmc=8428266 |doi-access=free}} In 1999, Brochu formally cladistically defined Jacarea as the last common ancestor of Caiman latirosris (Broad-snouted caiman), Caiman crocodilus (Spectacled caiman), Caiman yacare (Yacare caiman), Melanosuchus niger (Black caiman), and all its descendants. Molecular DNA phylogenetic studies recover Paleosuchus as outside of Jacarea, although morphological studies are inconsistent.

The cladogram below shows the results of the strict consensus phylogenetic analysis of the 2020 Cicade et al. study:{{Cite journal |last1=Cicade |first1=G.M. |last2=Fortier |first2=D. |last3=Hsiou |first3=A.S. |year=2020 |title=Taxonomic and phylogenetic review of Necrosuchus ionensis (Alligatoroidea: Caimaninae) and the early evolution and radiation of caimanines |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=189 |issue=2 |pages=657–669 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz051|doi-access=free }}

{{clade| style=font-size:85%;line-height:85%

|label1=Caimaninae

|1={{clade

|1={{extinct}}Culebrasuchus mesoamericanus

|2={{clade

|1={{extinct}}Gnatusuchus pebasensis

|2={{clade

|1={{extinct}}Globidentosuchus brachyrostris

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{extinct}}Eocaiman palaeocenicus

|2={{clade