[Paleosuchus Palpebrosus]
Habitat: Swamps, Mangroves, and Flooded Savannahs
Height: 4.6ft
Weight: 13-16 lbs
Average Lifespan: 30 – 40 Years
Gestation Period: 90 days
Conservation Status: Least Concern
-Caimans are armor-plated, which means that parts of their bodies are covered in bony plates or scales, overlaid with horn. These are called “scutes.”
-The temperature in the nest determines the sex of baby caimans.
-There are calcium rivets on the scutes of caimans, which makes their hide stiffer than alligators and crocodiles, and therefore less valuable to humans.
-In particularly dry summers or droughts, the caiman may dig a burrow, seal it, and go into a form of summer hibernation called “aestivation.”
-Caimans are well adapted to the life in water. They can swim at speed of 30 miles per hour