Size
The black caiman is one of the largest extant reptiles. It is the largest predator in the Amazon basin and possibly the largest member of the family Alligatoridae. Most adult black caimans are 2.8 to 4.26 metres (9.2–14 ft) in length, with a few old males growing larger than 5 m (16 ft) and exceeding a weight of 400 kg (880 lb). Sub-adult male specimens of around 2.5–3.35 m (8.2–11.0 ft) will weigh roughly 95–100 kg (210–220 lb), around the same size as a mature female, but will quickly increase in bulk and weigh. Mid-sized mature males of 3.5–4 m (11–13 ft) weigh approximately 300 kg (660 lb). The black caiman broadly overlaps in size with the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), although it is on average larger at maturity. In some areas (such as the Araguaia River) this species is consistently reported at 4 to 5 metres (13–16 ft) in length, much larger than the alligator (which rarely even reaches 4 meters), although specimens this size are uncommon. Several widely-reported but unconfirmed (and probably largely anecdotal) sources report that the black caiman can grow to over 6 m (20 ft) in length and weigh up to 1,100 kg (2,400 lb). In South America, two other crocodilians reportedly reach similar sizes: the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and the Orinoco Crocodile (C. intermedius).
Read more about this topic: Black Caiman
Famous quotes containing the word size:
“Eat your meals according to the size of your bowl.”
—Chinese proverb.
“The obese is ... in a total delirium. For he is not only large, of a size opposed to normal morphology: he is larger than large. He no longer makes sense in some distinctive opposition, but in his excess, his redundancy.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“Delusions that shrink to the size of a woman’s glove,
Then sicken inclusively outwards:
. . . the incessant recital
Intoned by reality, larded with technical terms,
Each one double-yolked with meaning and meaning’s rebuttal:
For the skirl of that bulletin unpicks the world like a knot....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)