Head to head
Broad-snouted Caiman vs Yacare Caiman
Broad-snouted Caiman
VS Yacare Caiman
The broad-snouted caiman and yacare caiman are two medium-sized Caiman crocodilians of the wetlands of southern South America that share parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina.
| Broad-snouted Caiman | Yacare Caiman | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Caiman latirostris | Caiman yacare |
| Build | A wide, short snout, the broadest relative to its length of any caiman, and a dark olive to brown body with yellow bands, strongest in the young | A medium-sized caiman growing to around 2.5 metres, with males larger than females |
| Diet | Snails and other molluscs, crustaceans, fish, and occasionally small mammals and birds | Mostly fish, including piranha, as well as snails, crustaceans, frogs, and the occasional bird or small mammal |
| Eggs | The sex of the hatchlings depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated in the nest | The female builds a mound nest of vegetation and soil, and guards it until the eggs hatch |
| Use and behaviour | Eggs are collected from the wild and hatched on farms under a sustainable-use programme in Argentina, with a share of the young released | In the dry season, large groups pack into the shrinking pools that remain, living alongside fish and wading birds |
| Population | Widespread and recovering after heavy hunting, though wetland loss continues to affect it | Abundant, with millions in the Pantanal, after recovering from heavy hunting in the twentieth century |
| Range | Swamps, marshes, lagoons, and flooded grassland in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia | Seasonal wetlands, rivers, and lagoons in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina, with the Pantanal as its stronghold |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, with a stable population | Least Concern, with a stable population |
Broad-snouted Caiman vs Yacare Caiman: common questions
Which caiman eats snails?
The broad-snouted caiman, whose wide, short snout gives it a powerful crushing bite for cracking snail shells.
Where are yacare caimans most numerous?
In the Pantanal, where millions live in the vast seasonal wetland.
What decides the sex of the hatchlings?
In the broad-snouted caiman, the temperature at which the eggs are incubated in the nest decides the sex.