C

CAMPOS, Z., LLOBET, A., PIÑA, C.I. & MAGNUSSON, W.E. (2010)

Yacare Caiman - Caiman yacare.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 23-28.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

The  Yacare  caiman  is  found  in  the  lowlands  of  northern and  eastern  Bolivia  and  western  Brazil,  from  the Amazon southwards  through  the  Guaporé/Madeira  and  Paraguay/Paraná  River  systems  and  into  northern  Argentina. Morphologically and ecologically, this species is similar to
the  common  caiman  (Caiman  crocodilus  crocodilus), and integrates with that subspecies along a large area (probably more  than  1000  km)  of  the  Madeira  River  in  Amazonia. As with the common caiman, C. yacare is found in a wide spectrum  of  habitat  types.  Most  ecological  studies  have been carried out in the Pantanal region of southern Brazil.

Resolution of the systematic relationships within the very widespread C. crocodilus complex  is needed. Extensive surveys and specimen collection in southern Brazil, northern Bolivia and  Paraguay suggest a  ery  complex gradient of morphological features between C. c. crocodilus and the C. yacare. As there are no fixed differences between the two taxa, they have to be defined geographically,  rather than morphologically, which obviously poses legal difficulties if an individual crosses the  hypothetical line and changes “species”.

Morphological and genetic analyses to resolve the relationships between these taxa are incomplete and inconclusive, mainly because  data  from  the zone of hybridization between the two taxa was not included.

Caiman yacare is still, and always has been, listed technically as a full species. Some authors do  not recognize it as  being distinct from the common caiman and use the subspecies C. c. yacare.  Recent  molecular data provide evidence for long-term biological separation of large populations of caimans in  Central and South America.

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