Black Caiman - Melanosuchus niger.
In: Crocodiles.Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: 29-39.
Third Edition, ed. by S.C. Manolis and C. Stevenson. Crocodile Specialist Group: Darwin
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The Black caiman is the largest member of the Alligatoridae, with adult males surpassing 4-5 m in length. The species is widely distributed throughout the Amazon River basin, but populations are also known from areas outside the Amazon; the Rupununi and upper Essequibo River drainages in Guyana, the Kaw and Approuague region of French Guiana, and the lower Oiapoque River (Amapá, Brazil/French Guiana border), with populations at Pointe Behague (French Guiana) and Cabo Orange (Brazil).
Today, M. niger is common throughout much of the Brazilian Amazon, and there are no reports of populations being locally endangered in the last 15-20 years. In 2007, the population was transferred to CITES Appendix II (Brazil 2007), a move that will facilitate managed commercial use.