The smooth-fronted caiman (''Paleosuchus trigonatus''), also known as Schneider's dwarf caiman or Schneider's smooth-fronted caiman,''Paleosuchus trigonatus''
The Reptile Database. is a crocodilian from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, where it is native to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and

Orinoco Basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...

s. It is the second-smallest species of the family

Alligatoridae The family Alligatoridae of crocodylians includes alligators, caimans and their extinct relatives. Phylogeny The superfamily Alligatoroidea includes all crocodilians (fossil and extant) that are more closely related to the American alligator ...

, the smallest being

Cuvier's dwarf caiman Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus'') is a small crocodilia Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago ...

, also from tropical South America and in the same genus. An adult typically grows to around in length and weighs between . Exceptionally large males can reach as much as in length and in weight.

Etymology

The smooth-fronted caiman was first described by the German

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and naturalist

Johann Gottlob Schneider Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider (18 January 1750 – 12 January 1822) was a German classicist and naturalist. Biography Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony. In 1774, on the recommendation of Christian Gottlob Heine, he became secretary to ...

in 1801. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

name ''

Paleosuchus ''Paleosuchus'' is a South American genus of reptiles in the subfamily Caimaninae of the family Alligatoridae. They are the smallest members of the order Crocodilia in the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called ...

'' is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''palaios'' meaning "ancient" and ''soukhos'' meaning "crocodile". This refers to the belief that this crocodile comes from an ancient lineage that diverged from other species of caimans some 30 million years ago. The specific name ''trigonatus'' is derived from the Greek ''trigonos'' meaning "three-cornered" and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''atus'' meaning "provided with" and refers to the triangular shape of the head.

Description

The head of the smooth-fronted caiman is similar in appearance to that of the spectacled caiman (''Caiman crocodilus''), but no bony ridge or "spectacle" occurs between the eyes. The

scute A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...

s on the back of the neck and the tail are large, triangular, and sharp. It has heavily ossified body armour on both its

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

and

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

surfaces. The relatively short tail is broad at its base and flattened dorsoventrally in contrast to most species of crocodilians which have laterally flattened tails. The bony scutes on the tail have sideways projections; and the tail is so well armoured, that it is relatively inflexible. This caiman is a dark greyish-brown with mid-brown eyes. Males grow to about long, with the largest recorded specimen being . Females do not often exceed . It is a robust crocodilian, strong for its size, and tends to carry its head high with its neck angled upwards.

Distribution and habitat

The smooth-fronted caiman is native to the

and

s in South America and is found in Bolivia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

, Guyana,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, Suriname, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It inhabits small streams in forested areas where in some cases, the water may be insufficiently deep for it to completely submerge itself. It is seldom seen in open areas and does not usually bask in the sun, even in captivity.

Behaviour and life history

The adult smooth-fronted caiman has cryptic habits and is seldom observed by day because it hides in underwater burrows or may spend much of its time up to away from water, concealed in dense undergrowth, in hollow logs, or under fallen trees. Males are territorial and females have small

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. He ...

s. Adults are semiterrestrial and mainly feed on such animals as porcupines, pacas,

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, and lizards, consuming few

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

or molluscs. Hatchlings feed mainly on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s and other

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s in their first few weeks, graduating to larger prey as they grow, such as small fish, birds, and reptiles. Juvenile mortality is high, but adult mortality is low, although large

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

s such as the jaguar sometimes prey on them. Females become mature and start to breed at about 11 years and males at about 20. The female builds a large mound nest out of leaf litter and soil at the end of the dry season or may use a pre-existing nest. A clutch of 10 to 15 eggs is laid and covered with further nesting material. Some heat is generated by the decaying vegetation and good insulation helps to retain this. The nests are often built against the sides of

termite mound Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of . Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas. Termite mounds usually ...

s and metabolic heat generated by the

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

s helps to maintain the clutch at a near constant temperature. The eggs need to be maintained at a temperature of for the production of male offspring. The

incubation period Incubation period (also known as the latent period or latency period) is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical, or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent. In a typical infectious disease, the in ...

is about 115 days and the female caiman remains near the nest for at least the earlier part of this time, providing protection against predators. During incubation, roots may grow through the nest, and soil from the termite mound may cement the eggs together. This means parental assistance is necessary when the eggs hatch to enable the hatchlings to escape from the nest chamber. Having transported the newly emerged juveniles to a nursery area, the female stays with them for a few weeks after which time they disperse. The female may miss a year before breeding again.

Status and conservation

The smooth-fronted caiman is not extensively hunted because its skin contains many bony scutes, which make it of little use for leather. The animals are collected in Guyana, however, for the

pet trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

. The main threats to this species are destruction of its forest habitat and

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

of its environment by

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...

activities. Over one million individuals are estimated to remain in the wild, and the species is rated by the IUCN as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. It is listed on Appendix II of

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

which is designed to limit overexploitation through international trade.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q473521 Alligatoridae Crocodilians of South America Reptiles of Bolivia Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Peru Reptiles of Suriname Reptiles of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Reptiles described in 1801 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN