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Cannibalism in Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1802) (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in a permanent pond from Northeastern Brazil

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  • Kevin Cirilo,
  • Juliana Delfino de Sousa,
  • Marcelo Nogueira de Carvalho Kokubum
Kevin Cirilo
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Bio
Juliana Delfino de Sousa
Universidade Estadual da Paraíba
Marcelo Nogueira de Carvalho Kokubum
Universidade Estadual da Paraíba
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-20615

Published 2026-10-03

Keywords

  • Alligatoridae,
  • Feeding behavior,
  • natural history,
  • Neotropical,
  • crocodilian

How to Cite

Cirilo da Silva, K. A., de Sousa, J. D., & Kokubum, M. N. de C. (2026). Cannibalism in Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1802) (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in a permanent pond from Northeastern Brazil. Acta Herpetologica. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-20615

Copyright (c) 2026 Kevin Cirilo, Juliana Delfino de Sousa, Marcelo Nogueira de Carvalho Kokubum

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

O canibalismo é um comportamento predatório intraespecífico amplamente difundido entre vertebrados e invertebrados, incluindo crocodilianos. No entanto, os registos para o jacaré-de-focinho-largo (Caiman latirostris) ainda são escassos. Relatamos uma observação direta de canibalismo em um lago em Itapororoca, Paraíba, nordeste do Brasil, em fevereiro de 2025. Um adulto (com cerca de 1,9 m de comprimento total) predou um juvenil da mesma espécie (com cerca de 0,8 m). Este registro contribui para o conhecimento limitado sobre canibalismo em C. latirostris e destaca a importância das observações em ambiente natural para a compreensão das interações intraespecíficas em crocodilianos.

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