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Caiman crocodilus (LINNAEUS, 1758)
A small, maybe 1m long caiman.
Drainage canals in an orange grove.
It looks like a Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) to me. But they look very similar to American Crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) and I've seen this animals mother and she looked like she was well over 2m. But Wikipedia says, "The largest female was reportedly 1.61 m (5.3 ft) long". Which makes me doubt it's a caiman. Anyone out there who know their Central American crocodilians is invited to chime in.
Spotted on Jan 6, 2014
Submitted on Jun 22, 2014
3 Comments
Amazing photo Sigg!
Thanks Scott, I was leaning towards spectacled caiman, but I've seen a few that were well in excess of 2.5m, probably males. And I've seen the big female with her young and she seems to be around 2m long. Most references seem to indicate that that's bigger than they can get. But that seems to be within range according to your link. Maybe they just get big around here.
This is not the American crocodile. It is a caiman, a spectacled caiman by range. "...rare [female] individuals may approach 2 m." http://crocodilian.com/cnhc/csp_ccro.htm...