Classification: Introduced Species Invasive populations have become established in South Florida, with isolated records further north in the state. It is intolerant to cold climates, so its range is unlikely to expand to further north than Florida.

Description: The spectacled caiman is a small to medium-sized crocodilian. Females generally grow to no more than 3 feet 7 inches to 4 feet 7 inches (the lower size typical upon the onset of sexual maturity), but can rarely grow to nearly 6 feet 7 inches. Adult males can regularly reach 4 feet 11 inches to 5 feet 11 inches while large mature ones grow to 6 feet 7 inches to 8 feet 2 inches, although relatively few get to the upper size. The maximum reported size for the species is 8 feet 8 inches. The body mass of most adults is between 15 and 88 lbs., with males typically being considerably heavier than females. Some males in the Llanos have been reported to grow to up to 128 lbs.

The upperside of the species is mostly brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has dark brown crossbands, with a lighter underside. It has a greenish iris. and wrinkled eyelids. It changes color seasonally; during colder weather, the black pigment within its skin cells expands, making it appear darker. The species has an enlarged 4th tooth, and the teeth in its lower jaw penetrate into a socket in its upper jaw. It has a long snout that tapers moderately, with an unexpanded tip. Several ridges begin in front of its eyes and travel to the tip of its snout. Its common name comes from a bony ridge between its eyes, which gives the appearance of a pair of spectacles. The spectacled caiman is the most widely distributed New World crocodilian, and is the most geographically variable species in the Americas, making it a highly adaptable species.

Habitat: It usually lives in forests, inland bodies of fresh water (such as wetlands and rivers), grasslands, shrublands, and savannas, but is very adaptable. It prefers habitats with calm water containing floating vegetation, usually flooding and drying seasonally. It is most common in low-lying areas, but has been found at elevations of up to 2,600 feet.

Range: The spectacled caiman has the largest range of any caiman, and of any New World crocodilian. It is found in various countries throughout the Americas. It lives in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, and may also be extant in Belize and Bolivia. It has been introduced to Isla de la Juventud in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Florida in the United States; in the latter, it is sometimes mislabeled as the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Found in these States: FL

Diet: During the wet season, it primarily eats snails and freshwater crabs, while it mostly eats fish in the dry season. Smaller specimens tend to eat more insects and freshwater shrimp, while larger ones more frequently consume mammals and fish. Overall, the most common animals in this species' diet are crabs, fish, mammals, and snails.

Reproduction: The spectacled caiman reaches sexual maturity from four to seven years old, at a length of 3.9 feet for females and 4.6 feet for males. Usually, the more dominant individuals mature more quickly. Specimens choose mates and engage in copulation from May to August, the wet season. The females build nests as a mound of dense vegetation, in areas that are close to water but not at risk of being flooded. The nests are over 3.3 feet in diameter and can be 16 inches high, but the exact size depends on the resources available. Eggs are laid in July and August; the species very rarely nests in the winter, as the temperature is too low for the eggs. Clutch size is 22 on average, but can range from 14 to 40. Larger females have been known to lay larger eggs compared to smaller females. Females stay close to their nests during the incubation period, as several species, such as lizards in the genus Tupinambis, have been known to destroy nests and prey on the eggs. White-nosed coatis and foxes also raid nests. Flooding and human egg collecting can also be a threat to the nests. In a study in the Central Amazonia assessing reproductive similarities between C. crocodilus and Melanochus niger, research found that they indiscriminately separate their nests at larger distances than other species in this family, most likely to avoid predation.

Temperature is important to the developing eggs, so females build their nests in a way that insulates them from extreme temperature changes. As the vegetation in the nests decays, the nests produce heat which can keep the eggs about 90 ℉ ℉ warmer than if they were insulated by mud alone. Heat not only incubates the eggs, but also determines the sex of the developing caimans (temperature-dependent sex determination). When the temperature inside the nest is about 90 ℉ ℉ or higher, the caimans become female, and otherwise become male. Young hatch after 90 days, with 20 to 25 percent of eggs hatching successfully. They are yellow with black spots, a coloration which fades away as they grow older, with a length of 7.9 to 9.1 inches. Parents raise their young in creches, with one female taking care of her own, as well as several others' offspring. They take care of their young for 12 to 18 months. Young are threatened by various predators, such as raptors (like hawks) and wader birds (like herons), causing most to die in their first year. These juveniles are also preyed upon by large fish, large snakes (such as anacondas), and other crocodilians.

Status: The Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) is distributed across 16 countries and has been introduced in three countries. This species has demonstrated a high recovery rate after exploitation. Population numbers are estimated in the millions and widely distributed throughout the range, although locally depleted or extirpated in some localities.

Subspecies: Four:
   Rio Apaporis Caiman - (Caiman crocodilus apaporiensis)
   Chiapas Spectacled Caiman - (Caiman crocodilus chiapasius)
   Common Caiman - (Caiman crocodilus crocodilus)
   Brown Caiman - (Caiman crocodilus fuscus)

Taxonomy: