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Caimans tend to be more agile and crocodile-like in their movements, and have longer, sharper teeth than alligators. [ 13 ] C. crocodilus , the spectacled caiman , has the widest distribution, from southern Mexico to the northern half of Argentina, and grows to a modest size of about 2.2 m (7.2 ft).
Caimans are distinguished from alligators, their closest relatives, by a few defining features: a lack of a bony septum between the nostrils, ventral armor composed of overlapping bony scutes formed from two parts united by a suture, and longer and sharper teeth than alligators, plus caimans tend to be more agile and crocodile-like in their ...
With a total length averaging 1.4 m (4.6 ft) for males and up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) for females, Cuvier's dwarf caiman is not only the smallest extant species in the alligator and caiman family, but also the smallest of all crocodilians (unless the Congo dwarf crocodile is considered a valid species). [5]
In general, in crocodiles and gharials, both rows of teeth are visible when the jaws are closed because their teeth fit into grooves along the outside lining of the upper jaw. By contrast, the lower teeth of alligators and caimans normally fit into holes along the inside lining of the upper jaw, so they are hidden when the jaws are closed.
The yacare caiman (Caiman yacare), also known commonly as the jacare caiman, Paraguayan caiman, piranha caiman, red caiman, [5] and southern spectacled caiman, [6] is a species of caiman, a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. The species is endemic to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
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. [ 3 ] At present, Paleosuchus contains only two members: the smooth-fronted or Schneider's dwarf caiman ( Paleosuchus trigonatus ) and Cuvier's dwarf caiman ( Paleosuchus palpebrosus ), both from ...
The yacare caiman is the largest species in the genus, attaining an average adult length of 2.5 to 3 m (8.2 to 9.8 ft), [5] the spectacled caiman reaches 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft), with the female rather smaller, [6] and the broad-snouted caiman is the smallest, more typically measuring 1.8 to 2 m (5.9 to 6.6 ft) for males and 1.2 to 1.4 m (3. ...
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.