Caiman

caiman: see alligator.

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caiman

Any member of several species of Central and South American reptiles of the alligator family. Like the rest of the crocodile order, caimans are amphibious, lizardlike carnivores. They live along the edges of rivers and other bodies of water, and reproduce by laying hard-shelled eggs in nests built and guarded by the female. The largest species is the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), a potentially dangerous animal with a maximum length of about 15 ft (4.5 m). Average lengths for the other species (genera Caiman and Paleosuchus) are 4–7 ft (1.2–2.1 m).

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cayman, caiman

any tropical American crocodilian of the genus Caiman and related genera, similar to alligators but with a more heavily armoured belly: family Alligatoridae (alligators, etc.)

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caiman [′kā·mən]

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of five species of reptiles of the genusCaimanin the family Alligatoridae, differing from alligators principally in having ventral armor and a sharper snout.

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Caiman 

the common name for three genera of reptiles (Caiman, Melanosuchus, and Paleosuchus) of the family Alligatoridae. They are distinguished from true alligators by the absence of a bony septum in the olfactory cavity and the presence of a bony abdominal shell. There are five species, found in bodies of water in Central and South America.

The largest is the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), which reaches a length of 4-5 m. It is found in the Amazon River basin. The female lays 30-40 eggs (each up to 9 cm) in a depression in moist soil near water. The black caiman feeds mainly on fish, but also eats waterfowl, marsh birds, and mammals. It will often attack small cattle, particularly during flash floods in semi-inundated pasture lands.

REFERENCE

Wermuth, H., and R. Mertens. Schildkröten, Krokodile, Brückenechsen. Jena, 1961.