FAMILY:
ALLIGATORIDAE
A. mississippiensis
A. sinensis
C. crocodilus
C. c. apaporiensis
C. c. fuscus
C. latirostris
C. yacare
M. niger
P. palpebrosus
P. trigonatus
FAMILY:
CROCODYLIDAE
C. acutus
C. intermedius
C. johnstoni
C. mindorensis
C. moreletii
C. niloticus
C. novaeguineae
C. palustris
C. porosus
C. rhombifer
C. siamensis
M. cataphractus
O. tetraspis
T. schlegelii
FAMILY:
GAVIALIDAE
G. gangeticus
DICHOTOMOUS KEY
[German]
Females (occasionally assisted, apparently, by males) construct a mound nest close to water. The size of the nest can be around 1.5m in diameter and around 40cm high. Over the 90 day incubation period, the female aggressively guards the 20 to 60 eggs in the nest from predators such as large tegu lizards, monkeys and even birds. Once the eggs have hatched, both male and female caimans help to protect them for at least their first year.
Photograph © Adam Britton
