Least ConcernBlack Caiman
Melanosuchus niger
One of the 6 crocodilians on WAnimals
Reptiles · Crocodilia · Alligatoridae
Paleosuchus palpebrosus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
It is the smallest crocodilian in the world and carries the densest osteoderm armour of any, an evolutionary trade-off that offsets how vulnerable its small size would otherwise leave it.
Weight
5.4 kg – 37 kg
Size
1.2 m – 1.6 m
Life expectancy
40 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Sources consulted: Critter Science; Animalia.bio; Animal Diversity Web; The Animal Facts; Wikipedia (Cuvier's dwarf caiman); About Animals; Fishipedia
Best time: All year round, at night, in forest streams and fast-flowing rivers of Amazonia and the Orinoco.
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 15.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Dwarf Caiman — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about dwarf caiman.
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