Caiman (Paleosuchus, Melanosuchus, Caiman)

[Paleosuchus]

Diet, Gastric Parasitism, and Injuries of Caimans (Caiman,Melanosuchus, and Paleosuchus) in the Peruvian Amazon
Abstract
Caimans (Crocodilia: Alligatoridae) are top-level predators in aquatic ecosystems of the Neotropics. This paper presents data on
the diet of caimans from the Peruvian Amazon (principally Paleosuchus spp., but also Caiman crocodilus and Melanosuchus niger), including
feeding observations and stomach content examinations. A total of 58 stomach content analyses and three in situ feeding observations were
made, and incidence of gastric parasitism and external injury were also studied. Insects, crustaceans, and fish were the most frequently
encountered prey in the gut of P. trigonatus, but reptiles, fish, crustaceans, and mammals composed the greatest proportion of the diet by
stomach content dry mass. We report novel squamate and fish species in the diet of Amazonian caimans and overall dietary findings consistent
with that of other caiman diet literature. Gastroliths were absent from C. crocodilus and M. niger, although 44% of P. trigonatus sampled
contained gastroliths. Parasitic nematodes were recovered from just under half of sampled C. crocodilus and P. trigonatus and 71% of M. niger.
Injury rates were low in M. niger and P. trigonatus (< 10% of individuals) while 35% of C. crocodilus were injured, most often through damage
to the tail. These data on caiman diet, gut parasitism, and injury rates help provide a baseline for comparison between species and study
populations.

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"Bodily injuries were observed in 35% Caiman crocodilus,
8% of Melanosuchus niger, and 10% of Paleosuchus
trigonatus. There was no apparent sex bias in injury rates
of any species (Table 4). Damage to and blunting of the
tail were the most commonly observed injury in C. crocodilus
and M. niger. None of the captured P. trigonatus exhibited
tail injuries, although one male (SVL = 34.5 cm,
TL = 67.2 cm, M = 0.9 kg) had severe damage to the left
forelimb resulting in a partially amputated foot bearing
a single intact phalange. Among all captured individuals,
only a single live female C. crocodilus (SVL = 41.2 cm,
TL = 81.1 cm, M = 2.2 kg) exhibited a bleeding puncture
wound on the posterior of the skull, in addition to the recent
loss of ~ 10 cm of distal tail length."

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