# Broad-snouted caiman (*Caiman latirostris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-snouted-caiman  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) is a reptile in the crocodilian subgroup, belonging to the order Crocodylia and the family Alligatoridae. It falls in the medium size class, with a representative adult body mass of 14.6 kg. It lays one clutch of 30 eggs per year, and the eggs incubate for 82 days. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 22 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 14.6 kg |
| Length | up to 3.5 m |
| Lifespan | 22 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | freshwater, riverine, wetland |
| Egg incubation | 82 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 18 – 129 |
| Age at maturity | 5 years – 7.5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Crocodylia
- family: Alligatoridae
- genus: Caiman
- species: *Caiman latirostris* (Daudin, 1801)

Synonyms: *Alligator cynocephalus*, *Caiman fissipes*, *Caiman latirostris chacoensis*, *Champsa fissipes*, *Crocodilus latirostris*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the broad-snouted caiman?

The broad-snouted caiman is a reptile in the crocodilian subgroup. It belongs to the order Crocodylia and the family Alligatoridae.

### How heavy is the broad-snouted caiman?

Its representative adult body mass is 14.6 kg, which places it in the medium size class.

### Is the broad-snouted caiman endangered?

No. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the broad-snouted caiman live?

Its lifespan is given as 22 years.

### How many eggs does the broad-snouted caiman lay?

It lays 30 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs incubate for 82 days.

### When does the broad-snouted caiman reach sexual maturity?

It reaches sexual maturity at 5 years, with the highest value reported by sources being 7.5 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-snouted-caiman