Description
English: Caiman niger = Melanosuchus niger (Black Caiman)
Français : Caiman niger = Melanosuchus niger (Caïman noir)
Date 1825
Source Animalia nova sive species nova lacertarum http://www.archive.org/stream/animalianovasive1825spix#page/n47/mode/2up
Author Johann Baptist von Spix
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caiman_niger_Spix.jpg

The black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is a large crocodilian and, along with the American alligator, is one of the biggest extant members of the family Alligatoridae and order Crocodilia. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers, lakes, seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon basin, and in other freshwater habitats of South America. It is a quite large species, growing to sizes of at least 5 m and possibly up to 6 m in length, which make it the biggest reptile in the Neotropical ecozone. As their name implies, the black caiman has a dark coloration, as an adult. In some individuals the dark coloration can appear almost black. Order: Crocodilia, Family: Alligatoridae, Genus: Melanosuchus, Species: Melanosuchus niger (Spix, 1825).