Cuban Crocodile - Crocodylus rhombifer.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 114-118.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin.

Aus dem Inhalt:

The Cuban crocodile has the smallest known distribution of any extant crocodilian, and is currently restricted to Zapata Swamp  (mainland  Cuba) and Lanier Swamp (Isla de la Juventud). In the recent past the species was more widely distributed on the main island of Cuba. Skeletal material shows that this species was present on the Cayman Islands. The Cuban crocodile population of Zapata Swamp is restricted to a small area of approximately 300 km², on the southwestern portion of the peninsula, where the species is sympatric with the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). Lanier Swamp is a small wetland of approximately 100 km², situated on a west-east axis, across the central portion of Isla de la Juventud. Several hundred C. rhombifer have been released in Lanier Swamp since 1994, as part of an ongoing restocking program.

Zur Bedrohung, räumlichen Verteilung und Bedrohung von Crocodylus porosus im Bentota Ganga, Sri Lanka.

Elaphe 16 (3): 41-52

Erweiterte englische Fassung verfügbar als "The distribution, abundance and threat of the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, in the Bentota Ganga, Sri Lanka"

Saltwater Crocodile - Crocodylus porosus

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 93-113.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin.

Aus dem Inhalt:

Crocodylus  porosus is considered the largest of the living crocodilians, with reported lengths of up to 6-7 m. Although accounting for far less human fatalities than the Nile crocodile, C. porosus preys on people when given the opportunity. It is one of the most widely distributed of all crocodilians, ranging from southern India and Sri Lanka, throughout  southeast Asia,  east  through  the Philippines to Micronesia, and down through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to northern Australia.

Black Caiman - Melanosuchus niger.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 29-39.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

The Black caiman is the largest member of the Alligatoridae, with adult males surpassing 4-5 m in length. The species is widely distributed throughout the Amazon River basin, but populations are also known from areas outside the Amazon; the  Rupununi and upper Essequibo  River drainages in Guyana, the Kaw and Approuague region of French Guiana, and the lower Oiapoque River (Amapá, Brazil/French Guiana border), with populations at Pointe Behague (French Guiana) and Cabo Orange (Brazil).

Today, M. niger is common throughout much of the Brazilian Amazon, and there are no reports of populations being locally endangered in the last 15-20 years. In 2007, the population was transferred to CITES Appendix II (Brazil 2007), a move that will facilitate managed commercial use.

Schneider's Smooth-fronted Caiman - Paleosuchus triginatus.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 43-45.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

Due to small body size and extensive ventral ossifi cation, the commercial value of the skin of P. trigonatus is very low. The management of P.  trigonatus is based principally on the protection of wild populations. Limited cropping is only allowed in Guyana, essentially for the pet trade, under a CITES quota

Cuvier's Smooth-fronted Caiman - Paleosuchus palpebrosus.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 40-42.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

The dwarf caiman holds little potential for the development of  commercially-oriented  management  programs. The primary value in most countries is for subsistence hunting by rural inhabitants, and Paleosuchus spp. are sometimes taken preferentially over Caiman spp. Commercial exploitation in Guyana is based on the capture and sale of dwarf caiman for the pet industry.

magnusson-biblio

Broad-snouted Caiman - Caiman latirostris.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 18-22.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

The Broad-snouted caiman is a medium-sized crocodilian. Although its maximum reported size is 3.5 m,  animals longer than 2.0 m are presently rare in the wild. This species’geographic distribution includes the drainages of the Paraná, Paraguay,  Uruguay  and  São  Francisco  River  systems, spreading  over  regions  of  northeast  Argentina,  southeast Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Uruguay. It also includes a large number of small Atlantic coast drainages from Natal, at the eastern tip of Brazil, to northeast Uruguay. Although this species is eventually sympatric with C. yacare
, Medem (1983) reported that C. latirostris was generally found in more densely vegetated, quieter waters. In Paraguay, Scott et al. (1990) found C. latirostris to be a habitat generalist, but when in sympatry with C. yacare it tended to be found in more ephemeral habitat, and was a better colonizer of isolated cattle stock ponds. This kind of man-made habitat has been also reported to be colonized by the species in Brazil (Verdade  and  Lavorenti 1990) and Argentina (Venturino 1994). Urbanization is also a threat, especially in eastern Brazil, but the species can still be found in urban lakes of the southern region of Rio de Janeiro City (Freitas-Filho 2007). Caiman latirostris has also been found in the mangroves of coastal islands of southeast Brazil (Moulton 1993). According to Yanosky (1994), the Broad-snouted caiman can be found from sea level up to 800 m altitude. 

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.

Spectacled Caiman - Caiman crocodilus.

In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 10-15.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin

Aus dem Inhalt:

The Spectacled caiman is the most widely distributed of the New World crocodilians, ranging from southern Mexico in the North to Peru and Brazil in the South. It is also the most geographically variable species in the Americas, with four subspecies generally being recognized.

Caiman appear to have been quite resilient to commercial hunting for a number of reasons, but particularly because they reproduce at a relatively small size, and hunting in many areas seems to have been concentrated on larger adult males. Another important factor has been the near extirpation of larger, sympatric species of crocodilian of greater commercial value. For example, caiman in Brazilian Amazonia occupy habitats that were formerly dominated by Melanosuchus niger.

American Alligator - Alligator mississippiensis.

In: Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Third  Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin:: 1-4.

Aus dem Inhalt:

The American alligator is the outstanding example of the application of sustainable use for the successful conservation of a crocodilian species. Although heavily exploited since the 1800s, and considered to be endangered in the early 1960s, populations have responded well to management and have recovered rapidly. Extensive surveys of alligator populations have been undertaken throughout the species’ range. Continuous monitoring of numerous localities is conducted as part of sustainable use programs in several states. Overall, alligator populations are quite healthy. Owing to expanding human populations, programs to control alligators that occur near people and dwellings (termed “nuisance” alligator control) are an integral part of alligator management and conservation. In some states, near the periphery of the alligator’s distribution, alligator populations are less dense and they are completely protected. The current total wild population is estimated to be 2-3 million alligators.

Volltext (PDF)