White caiman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Spectacled caiman
In Tobago river of Trinidad & Tobago
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Alligatoridae
Subfamily:	Caimaninae
Genus:	Caiman
Species:	C. crocodilus
Binomial name
Caiman crocodilus Schneilder, 1801
Map of caiman distribution
Synonyms
C. sclerops Schneider, 1801 C. caiman Daudin, 1802 C. alligator? Blumenbach, 1807 C. punctulatus Spix, 1825 'C. vallifrons Natterer, 1841 C. longiscuta Gray, 1862 C. multiscuta Gray, 1869 C. hirticollis Gray, 1869 C. lacordairei Borre, 1869

The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), or the common caiman, is a medium sized crocodilian species that lives in the wetland areas of South America. This size of this species generally can get up to between 6 to 8.2 feet (1.8 to 2.5 m). The spectacled caiman gets its name from the bony ridge between its eyes, looking like a pair of eyeglasses. As the seasons get colder, this caiman can change colors. Spectacled caimans have been known to eat insects, crustaceans, and mollusks.

In captivity

According to ISIS, there are known to be 170 spectacled caimans in zoos.

Images for kids

• 

  Spectacled caiman head, with the ridge between the eyes visible

• 

  Spectacled caimans in Monterrico, Guatemala

• 

  Los Llanos, Venezuela

• 

  C. crocodilus in Monterrico, Guatemala

• 

  C. crocodilus at the Helsinki Tropicario Zoo aquarium in Helsinki, Finland in 2010

See also

In Spanish: Caimán de anteojos para niños