Caiman

Subfamily Caimaninae

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing caimans. There are six caiman species living today. These crocodilians are natively found in Central and South America but they’ve been introduced outside of this range with one example being the Florida Everglades. Now, calling them crocodilians may give a misleading impression, so let’s set this straight. Crocodilians are animals classified in the Crocodilia Order and this order includes true crocodiles, alligators, gharials, false gharials, and caimans. Alligators and caimans are classified in the same family but they aren’t that closely related; they just happen to be more closely related to each other than the other crocodilians.

For all intents and purposes, there are only two living alligator species today. An alligator is an alligator and a caiman is a caiman which is why caimans are classified in their own subfamily. Some people may disagree with this, and that’s okay. Common names aren’t scientific anyway; we just like to give you all a chance to see how these groups can differ! In that vein, gharials are pretty easy to tell apart from the other crocodilians because they have cute, narrow snoots and sometimes bulbous noses. We discussed some ways to tell crocodiles and alligators apart in our alligator episode, but we’ll go over it again here. Crocodiles have pointed, V-shaped noses while alligators have rounded noses. Crocodiles have sharp, pointed teeth while alligators have conical, rounded teeth. And crocodiles show off both lower and upper teeth when their mouths are closed while alligators only show off the top row with a closed mouth.

How do caimans fit in with all of this? Well they sort of fall somewhere in the middle. Caimans have sharp, pointed teeth, somewhat round noses, and mostly their upper teeth show when their mouths are closed, though sometimes their bottom teeth poke through. When they open their mouths, caimans have orange colored mouths like a crocodile while alligator mouths look more beige - though, personally, we find this a bit subjective. What do you all think? Anyway, that’s it! All different crocodilians all with their own unique characteristics.

Caimans are also the smallest of the crocodilians, though that doesn’t mean they’re all small. The smallest caimans only reach about 5.25 feet (1.6m) in length at full size while the largest caimans can reach 14.7 feet (4.5m) or longer. Generally speaking, adult caimans are apex predators and top the food chain. Besides humans, adult caimans are hunted by jaguars, though younger individuals and smaller species may also be taken by anacondas, lizards, birds of prey, and wild boars. Their nest can be susceptible to predation, however, caimans are protective parents.

Female caimans will typically construct their nests in their male partner’s territory and the two of them will defend the nest. Caiman nests are constructed in layers because the sex of the babies developing in their eggs is dependent on temperature. Different layers allow for different temperatures which allow for differ sex babies. It takes about 65 to 115 days for the babies to incubate and they’ll call out to their mother when they're ready to hatch. She’ll carefully help them hatch and they’ll spend at least the next year sticking close to her and even their father if he’s around to lend a claw. Baby caimans eat insects, crustaceans, small fish, and mollusks while adults may take all these meals as well as larger fish, amphibians, and mammals, including capybaras which are the world’s largest living rodents! Caimans swallow their meals whole, so if a meal is too big they may let it sit in water for a few days to soften at which point they’ll tear it into smaller pieces.

Even after the young caimans are no longer under their parent’s protection, they may still stay near the place they were born. Some caiman species prefer slow moving or stagnant water systems while others, like smooth fronted and black caimans, prefer faster moving currents. During the heat of the summer they’ll bury themselves in mud and rest for a few weeks without eating. It’s kind of like the opposite of hibernation since it’s during the hottest part of the year and not the coldest. While caimans are hunted by humans for their meat and skin, if they can manage to avoid threats caimans may live anywhere from 20 to 40 years old!

For more facts on caimans, check out the links in the description. Thank you to Loyen Redhawk for today’s request! Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!