Caiman is the name of one family belonging only to the New World, a family of reptiles, which together with the crocodiles themselves constitutes the rank of armor or armored lizards. Caimans differ from real crocodiles with flattened muzzle and hind legs, equipped with only half-swimming membranes. Meanwhile, like the crocodile on the edge of the upper jaw, near the snout, there is a wrinkle, into which the fourth tooth of the lower jaw protrudes upwards, in the alligator this tooth enters the indentation located on the edge of the upper jaw.
Caimans are up to 4 m long, on the ground are slow and clumsy in their movements, but they swim well and have great strength, especially in the tail. The female lays between 20 – 60 eggs in special nests in the mud and from these eggs the young are born on the sunny heat, but the female is almost always on the alert somewhere nearby.
Alligator breeds, which are more common than others, belong to the jakar or spectacled caiman (Champsa sclerops), which is called the transverse fold, which fronts the edges of the eye cavities. The alligator is found mainly in the waters of South America, especially in Brazil and Guiana, it feeds mostly on fish, its upper part is dark olive, the lower one is greenish-yellowish white, and on its back there are four vague, blackish transverse strips.
In the upper reaches of the Amazon River, the black caiman (Alligator niger) is especially common. In the waters of North America, it is in Mississippi and its tributaries that the alligator lizard (Alligator lucius) is found, named so in the form of its muzzle; the upper part of it is dark brown in half with green and with a light, like a bandage, spots, the bottom white with a greenish tinge, and on the sides are visible strips of both colors; often hides in the mud and falls into lethargy when the cold is very cold. Now it is often brought to Europe.
Caiman – a predatory animal, but a man is afraid. Due to his shell, he can be mortally wounded only by rifle bullets or blows directed to the head above the eyes. Its white meat, similar to fish, and smelling of musk, is consumed only by blacks and wild tribes of Indians. He is persecuted for the harm he causes, because he devours a huge quantity of fish, and is caught in nets and snares or killed with bullets from rifles when he lies in mud on the shore.
