Smooth-fronted Caiman Printed T-shirt, ¡Nature is Cool!

Mythica Ecuador™ – A story behind your purchased T-shirt

Mythical Ecuador™, a small Ecuadorian company, wants to let you know a little about its cultural and natural wealth.

The main objective of this small interactive text between your purchased T-shirt and this digital information is to let you know through this short but interesting information about the majestic animal printed on your shirt “The Smooth-fronted Caiman”. And of course, as lovers of nature and our country Ecuador, we want you to know a little more about us and our natural wealth.

About Ecuador

Ecuador or the Ecuadorian Republic, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a sovereign and multinational country, located in the northwestern region of South America. Its capital is Quito. It is a member of the Andean Community and is organized into twenty-four provinces. It limits to the north with Colombia, to the south and east with Peru and to the west with the Pacific Ocean, which separates it from the Colón archipelago or Galapagos Islands by approximately one thousand kilometers from the continental coast, between the Santa Elena peninsula and the island of San Cristobal. It also limits with Costa Rica by the maritime border of the insular region. The equinoctial line or parallel 0° crosses the country and divides the continental and insular territories in two, thus leaving most of the Ecuadorian territory in the southern hemisphere.

The printed design on the T-shirt

Mythical Ecuador™ presents this unique and exclusive design of a Jaguar that belongs to the “Yasuní Collection“. This design shows a smooth-fronted caiman coming out of a spring in the middle of the Yasuní jungle, a small but majestic animal that is part of the rich fauna of Ecuador. Behind this animal you can see a pre-Columbian design carved in stone that represents Wiracocha, a deity of the ancient Inca peoples who inhabited our country and several other areas of South America.

This Smooth-fronted Caiman is the second smallest crocodilian in the world. Males are larger than females, with a total length between 1,7 meters and 2,3 meters; females do not exceed 1,4 meters.

Distribution and habitat

Scientific name: Paleosuchus trigonatus, is a neotropical species that is distributed in Ecuador, Bolivia (northeast), Brazil, Colombia, Peru, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. In Ecuador it can be found in the Yasuní National Park as well as in other provinces of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

This caiman inhabits forest clearings and is frequently associated with rapids and waterfalls, although it can also be found in still water. On the other hand, it is one of the two species of crocodiles that can live inside the forest and away from water sources.

Main Characteristics of the Caiman

• Color

Body dark brown, back of head dark brown, with a longitudinal black stripe between nostrils and forehead. Yellowish jaw with chestnut brown spots. Dark belly with a dominance of light gray tones. Hatchlings have a conspicuous golden spot on their heads. The iris is light brown brown and the eyes reflect a deep reddish sheen.

• Common names

Cachirres , Cachirres , Jacarés coroa , Curuas , Yacarés coroa , Jacarés coroa , Verrugosos , Yacarés curúa , Yacarés tinga , Cachirres negros , Caimanes morichalero , Caimanes piraña , Yacarés tinga , Caimanes yanira , Schneider’s smooth-fronted caiman , Smoth-fronted caiman , Yacarés negros , Tingas , Caimanes de frente lisa.

• Feading

It is an opportunistic predator, foraging at night, both in water and on dry land. Their diet is made up of a wide variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates. Among the most common prey are frogs, molluscs, crabs, fish, snakes, small mammals (guantas, agoutis, porcupines, armadillos and rodents), other crocodilians and conspecifics. Its body, with strong armor and sharp teeth, presents the perfect adaptation for hunting fish. In juveniles, the diet is composed of a large number of terrestrial invertebrates.

• Parental Care

This species presents parental care, normally the mother protects the nest and the hatchlings, although a case has been recorded where the male performed parental care. The only reports of aggressiveness towards humans have occurred only when they have approached nests or hatchlings.

• Reproductive season

During the reproductive season, the females move to the upper part of the streams and build their nests by accumulating fallen leaves and branches with their tails, sometimes using the same nesting sites that they previously occupied. They generally build nests next to termite mounds and near water. Proximity to termite mounds is important as it helps them maintain favorable incubation temperatures within the nest.

The incubation period of this species could be the longest in crocodilians, exceeding 100 days. Lang and Andrews suggest that in this species the sex of the offspring depends on the incubation temperature, in nests with temperatures equal to or less than 31° C (up to approximately 27° C) the hatchlings would be born female, while in nests with temperatures equal to or above 32° C the neonates would be born male. The laying number is 16 to 18 eggs. There are matings during most of the year, except in the rainiest months, when the construction of nests is difficult due to the lack of suitable sites.

These crocodilians move to hunt, and the movement patterns vary depending on the age and sex of the individuals. Juveniles tend to migrate from the nest from about 21 days after hatching, progressively moving away until about 50 days after hatching. Adults spend a large part of their time in their burrows, on land or underwater, and usually move towards the water through a network of tunnels or hollow logs, thus avoiding leaving their hiding places. They usually return to their burrows in the same way. On the other hand, they are excellent swimmers, and when they walk on dry land they do so with a characteristic position and with their heads held high.

Among its predators are the human being, the anaconda (Eunectes murinus), other crocodiles and possibly the jaguar (Panthera onca).

References

1. Caiman. Recovered from bioweb.bio
2. Caiman Distribution map. Recovered from iucnredlist.org