Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) Fact Sheet: Population & Conservation Status

Population estimates

• No quantitative global estimates—but considered widespread and abundant (Magnusson et al. 2019)
  • Surveys for other crocodilian species report presence of dwarf caimans in many locations
    • About 80% of dwarf caiman’s range included in these surveys
• Lack of data on population trends in many areas (Magnusson et al. 2019; Campos et al. 2019)
• Densities estimates
  • Low densities generally reported across this species’s range (Stevenson 2019)
    • 0 to 2 caimans/km reported in Brazil (multiple locations), Venezuela, and Ecuador (Campos et al. 1995; Rebelo and Lugli 2001; Pacheco Alvarez 2009; Carvalho and Veras Batista 2013; Muniz et al. 2015; Campos et al. 2018)
  • Higher densities reported in certain locations in Brazil (e.g., Campos et al. 1995; Campos and Magnusson 2016)
    • Up to 28 caimans/km at a newly created water reservoir site

Population structure

• Muniz et al. (2018) suggest 3 evolutionarily significant units:
  • Amazon
  • Madeira-Bolivia
  • Pantanal
• Strong population structuring in upper Madeira River (Hrbek et al. 2008)

IUCN

• Least Concern (2018 assessment) (Magnusson et al. 2019, except as noted)
  • Wide range in South America
  • No severe threats
  • Occurs in many national parks (Campos, Marioni, et al. 2013)
• Previous assessments
  • 1996: Lower Risk/least concern (Magnusson et al. 2019)

CITES

• Appendix II (UNEP 2019)
  • Guyana: annual export quota of 500 live animals (Magnusson 2019; UNEP 2019)
  • Also see “Pet trade,” below

Habitat loss

• Watershed pollution and soil erosion due to human activities (especially along borders of Pantanal) (Thorbjarnarson 1992; Trutnau and Sommerlad 2006; Campos and Mourão 2006; Campos et al. 2015; Campos and Muniz 2019; Magnusson et al. 2019)
  • Urbanization (e.g., road and dam construction, human settlements)
  • Mining operations
  • Agriculture and livestock operations
• Deforestation (e.g., by cutting, burning) (Muniz et al. 2015)

Hunting

• Adults and eggs taken by subsistence hunters for food (Medem 1958; Thorbjarnarson 1992; Trutnau and Sommerlad 2006; Campos and Mourão 2006; Muniz et al. 2015; Campos et al. 2018; Campos and Muniz 2019; Magnusson et al. 2019)
  • Hunting can locally reduce densities but populations not thought to be significantly impacted
  • Dwarf caiman sometimes taken in preference to other caiman species
• Little commercial take (Magnusson 1989; Magnusson et al. 2019)
  • Skins not sought for leather goods production
    • Dwarf caiman is small
    • Skin covered in bony scales (osteoderms)
  • Not historically hunted for skin trade (Stevenson 2019)
• Killed where human–crocodilian conflict exists (Campos 2015)
• Also see “Dwarf caiman in traditional medicine”

Pet trade

• Taken from the wild in Guyana for pet industry, mainly in the U.S. (Thorbjarnarson 1992)
  • Subject to CITES annual export quota of 500 live animals (Magnusson 2019; UNEP 2019)

Conservation actions

• Dwarf caiman conservation dependent on maintaining forest and watershed headwaters (Campos et al. 2019)
• Likely the least-well studied New World crocodilian (Magnusson 1992; Magnusson and Campos 2010; Campos et al. 2019, except as noted)
  • Well camouflaged animals; often difficult to detect for scientific study (e.g., Carvalho and Veras Batista 2013; Campos et al. 2015)
  • Little known about dwarf caiman biology until 1990s, except for early work by F. Meden and W.E. Magnusson (Campos et al. 2015)
• Research needed to understand basic biology (e.g., ecology, behavior, habitat preferences, diet, reproduction, population biology) (Magnusson 1989; Magnusson and Campos 2010; Campos et al. 2019)

Watershed pollution and deforestation are the main threats to dwarf caiman populations.

Protecting this species depends on maintaining healthy forest and watershed headwaters.

Image credit: © Zilca Campos. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the artist.