broad-snouted caiman

The broad-snouted caiman is one of three extant (living) species of the genus Caiman, the other two being the Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and the Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare). There are also several extinct fossil species in the genus Caiman, possibly up to eight species. The broad-snouted caiman is a member of the caiman subfamily Caimaninae, and is one of six living species of caiman. Its relationship to the other caimans can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA-based phylogenetic studies:{{Cite journal |last1=Bittencourt |first1=Pedro Senna |last2=Campos |first2=Zilca |last3=Muniz |first3=Fabio de Lima |last4=Marioni |first4=Boris |last5=Souza |first5=Bruno Campos |last6=Da Silveira |first6=Ronis |last7=de Thoisy |first7=Benoit |last8=Hrbek |first8=Tomas |last9=Farias |first9=Izeni Pires |date=22 March 2019 |title=Evidence of cryptic lineages within a small South American crocodilian: the Schneider's dwarf caiman Paleosuchus trigonatus (Alligatoridae: Caimaninae) |journal=PeerJ |volume=7 |page=e6580 |doi=10.7717/peerj.6580 |pmid=30931177 |pmc=6433001 |doi-access=free }}

{{clade

|label1=Alligatoridae

|1={{clade

|label1=Caimaninae

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Paleosuchus palpebrosus Cuvier's dwarf caiman

|2=Paleosuchus trigonatus Schneider's dwarf caiman }}

|label2=Jacarea

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Caiman crocodilus Spectacled caiman

|2=Caiman yacare Yacare caiman }}

|2=Caiman latirostris Broad-snouted caiman }}

|2=Melanosuchus niger Black caiman }} }}

|label2=Alligatorinae

|2={{clade

|1=Alligator sinensis Chinese alligator

|2=Alligator mississippiensis American alligator }} }} }}

In the wild, adults normally grow to {{convert|2|to|2.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in length, but a few old males have been recorded to reach up to {{convert|3.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0750E/t0750e0b.htm|title = 3.3 Caimans}} Captive adults have weighed {{convert|23|to|65|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |url=http://docentes.esalq.usp.br/lea/Artigos_pdf/Verdade%202003.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035541/http://docentes.esalq.usp.br/lea/Artigos_pdf/Verdade%202003.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last1=Bassetti |first1=Luís AB |last2=Marques |first2=Thiago S. |last3=Malvásio |first3=Adriana |last4=Piña |first4=Carlos I. |last5=Verdade |first5=Luciano M. |title=Thermoregulation in captive broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) |journal=Zoological Studies |date=4 February 2014 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=9 |doi=10.1186/1810-522X-53-9 |issn=1810-522X|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/18814 |hdl-access=free }} A large adult male of {{Cvt|2.6|m|ftin}} would weigh around {{Cvt|80|kg|lb}}.{{cite book |last1=Liwszyc |first1=Guillermo |last2=Larramendy |first2=Marcelo L. |title=Bird and Reptile Species in Environmental Risk Assessment Strategies |date=10 February 2023 |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |isbn=978-1-83767-077-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKetEAAAQBAJ |language=en}} Most tend to be of a light olive-green color. A few individuals have spots on their faces. The most notable physical characteristic is the broad snout from which its name is derived. The snout is well adapted to rip through the dense vegetation of the marshes. Due to this, they swallow some of the dense vegetation while foraging for food.Borteiro, C. Gutierrez, F. Tedros, M. and Kolenc, F. Food habits of the Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman Latirostris:Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) in northwestern Uruguay. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. Vol. 44, No. 1, April 2009, 31-36.

File:Broad-Snouted Caiman MAV 01.jpg

File:Jacaré-de-papo-amarelo (Caiman latirostris).jpg, Brazil]]

The broad-snouted caiman is ectothermic, depending on its external environment to regulate its body temperature. Its heart rate increases as the temperature increases and decreases when the temperature is lowered.Micheli, M.A. Campbell, H. A. Autonomic control of heart rate exhibits diurnal shifts in a crocodilian. Amphibia-Reptilia, Vol. 29 Issue 4, 2008. 567-571. The heat of the sun is absorbed through the skin into the blood, keeping its body temperature up. An increased heart rate helps the newly absorbed heat transfer throughout the body more quickly. When the air becomes cooler, the need for the heart rate to remain elevated is lost.

Young caimans rely heavily on their ability to find shelter to avoid predation. This behavior drops off as they age.

Upon hatching, the diet of the broad-nosed caiman consists mainly of small invertebrates it can find, such as beetles or arachnids. As the caiman reaches adolescence, it learns to crush shells with its jaws more effectively, enabling it to feed on more substantial prey, such as turtles and snails (including ampullarid snails).{{cite web | url=https://crocodilian.com/cnhc/csp_clat.htm | title=Crocodilian Species - Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris) }} As C. latirostris reaches maturity, the size of its prey tends to increase. Young adult caimans still maintain a diet consisting of mostly invertebrates; however, older animals greatly vary their diet, increasing their intake of small mammals, birds, larger fish, amphibians, and reptiles.{{cite journal | last1=Somaweera | first1=Ruchira | last2=Brien | first2=Matthew | last3=Shine | first3=Richard | title=The Role of Predation in Shaping Crocodilian Natural History | journal=Herpetological Monographs | publisher=Herpetologists League | volume=27 | issue=1 | date=2013-12-01 | issn=0733-1347 | doi=10.1655/herpmonographs-d-11-00001 | page=23| s2cid=86167446 }}

Captive specimens have been documented (and photographed) devouring the cone-shaped, mildly sweet fruits of 'split-leaf philodendron' (reclassified as Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum) without external stimulation, though it is unclear if this is because of them being housed with omnivorous reptiles, such as tegu, or a genuinely natural curiosity or feeding behaviour.Brito et al. 2002. "Do caiman eat fruit?".http://www.rc.unesp.br/ib/zoologia/denis/Brito_et_al.pdf. 2002. A later study also concluded that C. latirostris and its relatives are obligate omnivores, and indeed play an important role in the dispersal of plant seeds in their habitats.{{cite journal|first1=S.G|last1=Platt|first2=R.M|last2=Elsey|first3=H.|last3=Liu|title=Frugivory and seed dispersal by crocodilians: an overlooked form of saurochory?|journal=Journal of Zoology

|year=2013|volume=291|issue=2|pages=87–99|doi=10.1111/jzo.12052|doi-access=free}}

File:Caiman latirostris DT -AR Zoo BBAA- (2) (20716879376).jpg

The female lays 18 to 50 eggs at a time. While rare, 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 ({{convert|32|C|F}} or higher) develop into males and eggs at cooler temperatures ({{convert|31|C|F}} or lower) develop into females.María Virginia Parachú Marcó, Pamela Leiva, Josefina Luciana Iungman, Melina Soledad Simoncini and Carlos Ignacio Piña (April 2017): New Evidence Characterizing Temperature-dependent Sex Determination in Broad-snouted Caiman, Caiman latirostris. Estrogen levels and stress levels of the mother can have an effect. Nests reared at the same temperature can differ in sex ratio. This indicates there are other factor that contribute to a nest having male or female eggs.{{cite journal |last1=Simoncini |first1=Melina |title=Influence of Temperature Variation on Incubation Period, Hatching Success, Sex Ratio, and Phenotypes in Caiman Latirostris |journal=Experimental Zoology Part A |date=2019 |volume=331 |issue=5 |pages=299–307 |doi=10.1002/jez.2265 |pmid=31033236 |bibcode=2019JEZA..331..299S |s2cid=139105823 }}

Larger-scale hunting of C. latirostris began in the 1940s, as the species' skin was greatly valued for leather production, with its smoother texture compared to other crocodilians. Until South American countries made hunting them illegal, this was by far the largest threat to the species. An eventual ban on hunting helped them to regain their population. The newest threat is habitat destruction. Deforestation and pollution run-off are the two leading causes to this loss of habitat.

{{Wikispecies|Caiman latirostris}}

{{Commons category|Caiman latirostris}}

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==References==

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{{Crocodilia|A.}}

{{Crocs}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q644453|from2=Q49411450|from3=Q49411446}}

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Category:Caiman (genus)

Category:Extant Miocene first appearances

Category:Reptiles of Argentina

Category:Reptiles of Bolivia

Category:Crocodilians of Brazil

Category:Reptiles of Paraguay

Category:Reptiles of Uruguay

Category:Fauna of the Pantanal

Category:Mangrove fauna

Category:Reptiles described in 1801

Category:Taxa named by François Marie Daudin