Here is cute little baby Cuvier’s dwarf caiman relaxing in the sun

Today I want to write about a reptile with beautiful markings, Cuvier’s dwarf caiman.

Here are five interesting facts about them:

1. As their name suggests, these guys are the smallest member of the crocodilian family, with males growing to about 1.6 metres long and females growing to about 1.2 metres.
2. They are named after Georges Cuvier, a French zoologist who was the first scientist to describe them in the wild.
3. At breeding time, the females lay 15-25 eggs in a small mound made of leaves and mud, taking three months to hatch.  The babies stay with their mother for over a year.
4. Young Cuvier’s dwarf caimans mainly eat invertebrates, frogs and small fish, whilst adults eat larger fish, crabs and shrimp.  They are preyed upon by jaguars, green anacondas and boa constrictors.
5. Cuvier’s dwarf caimans are found throughout northern and central South America, where they are widespread and quite common.

I hope that you found these facts interesting and learned something new.

Are there any other interesting facts that you would like to share about Cuvier’s dwarf caimans?