🐊Cuvier's dwarf caiman
鈍吻古鱷（學名Paleosuchus palpebrosus），又稱矮鱷魚、盾吻古鳄、钝吻侏儒凯门鳄,是一种生活在南美洲北部和中部的小型鳄鱼，是世界上體型最小的鱷魚品種之一，成年後體型最小可到1.2米，身體上的皮有骨板加以強化，體色為啡色，加以深啡色或黑色的橫向帶狀斑紋，口鼻部平滑，雙眼之間無骨脊。 鈍吻古鱷主要分佈於南美洲北部，棲息在洪氾森林裏。這種鱷魚會用腐爛的植物於泥巴築巢，雌鱷每次生12隻蛋。 分布在玻利维亚、巴西、哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔、圭亚那、巴拉圭、秘鲁、苏里南和委内瑞拉。它们主要栖息在河滨森林和湖、河畔的洪溢林。它们可以忍受其他短吻鳄无法承受的低温，在干旱时节能穿越干地寻找水源。 钝吻古鳄是新大陆鳄鱼中体型最小的。雄性体长1.6米，雌性不超过1.2米。有记录的最大的钝吻古鳄长1.72米。成体重6-7千克。钝吻古鳄无论背侧还是腹侧都有厚实的鳞甲，如此一来即使它们体型较小，也不怕掠食者的威胁。 钝吻古鳄通常是夜行性的。成年鳄鱼以鱼类、两栖类、小型哺乳类、鸟类、螃蟹、虾、软体动物和其他无脊椎动物为食。亚成体则主要捕食鱼类、甲壳类、蝌蚪、蛙类和蜗牛和其他陆生无脊椎动物，如甲虫。
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.
- Body mass
- 5.9 kg
- Body length
- 1.4 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 24 years
Everything we know about the Cuvier's dwarf caiman
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass5.9 kgrecord 20 kg · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Body length1.4 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan24 yearsrecord 60 years · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
DietCarnivorousReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleNocturnalReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Foraging modeACTReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
VenomousNoReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l5.9 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Cuvier's dwarf caiman yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classCrocodylia
- ›familyAlligatoridae
- ›genusPaleosuchus
- ›speciesPaleosuchus palpebrosus
- orderSauria
- familyAlligatoridae
- subfamilyCaimaninae
- genusPaleosuchus
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- familyAlligatoridae
- subfamilyCaimaninae
- genusPaleosuchus
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