| Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Spectacled Caiman Other names: Common Caiman, White Caiman. French name: Caïman à lunettes Order: Crocodilia Suborder: Family: Alligatoridae Size: Length: 1.8 to 2 m for males; 1.2 to 1.4 m for females. Weight: up to 40 kg for males and 20 kg for females. Habitat : Various wetlands with a preference for areas with stagnant water, ponds, marshes and oxbow lakes. The Spectacled Caiman can tolerate salt water. Food: Invertebrates, insects, molluscs, crustaceans. The larger specimens can feed on fishes and mammals. Reproduction : Mating occurs late in the dry season. At the rain season, the female builds a mound-shaped nest with mud and plant materials. It can lay there up to 40 eggs. The decomposition of the plant materials warms the eggs. The sex of the young caimans is determined by the temperature of the eggs, at 31°C and below you get males, above 32°C you get females. One female can take care of several groups of juveniles, including those coming from other parents, and this during about one year. Geographic area: Central America and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. |
The Spectacled Caiman got its common name from the bony crest present on the forehead between the two eyes. The back is greenish with black transversal stripes which are also found on the tail. These black stripes, which are well marked on juveniles, slightly disappear with age. The underside is a uniform light colour. This iris is green and there is a small triangular bony crest above the eye. The back a the head is covered with two rows of small scales of unequal size. The Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger) also shows a bony crest between the eyes. However, it is significantly a larger size. Its tail is not striped and it has many small scales behind the head. |
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I have shot this picture at Sinnamary, from one bird watching hut at the Yiyi marshes. We have not seen many birds but we have got another visitor. You can clearly see the bony crest between the eyes. The total length may be about 1 metre. In French Guiana the Black Caiman is only found at the marshes of Kaw. So this one is a Spectacled Caiman. |
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This crossing of aquatic vegetation permitted us to see more than one pair of eyes. |
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Hello guys, do you enjoy your stay in French Guiana? |
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I have shot this picture during a boat tour on the marshes of Caw. The visit is used to ending, at nightfall, with the capture of a young caiman which will be freed just after. This is a usual practise which has no great interest. It just puts a big stress to some juvenile caimans. The visit of the marshes is enough interesting without that. |
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Once the caiman back into water, I have shot a picture on which you can see the scales of unequal size at the back of the head. |
André Bon February 2015