Cuvier's smooth-fronted caiman

Open encyclopedia reference

Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) is a small crocodilian in the alligator family from northern and central South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela. It lives in riverine forests, flooded forests near lakes, and near fast-flowing rivers and streams. It can traverse dry land to reach temporary pools and tolerates colder water than other species of caimans. Other common names for this species include the musky caiman, the dwarf caiman, Cuvier's caiman, and the smooth-fronted caiman (the latter name is also used for P. trigonatus). It is sometimes kept in captivity as a pet and may be referred to as the wedge-head caiman by the pet trade community. Cuvier's dwarf caiman was first described by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier in 1807 and is one of only two species in the genus Paleosuchus, the other species being P. trigonatus. Their closest relatives are the other caimans in the subfamily Caimaninae.

Wikipedia contributors, Cuvier's dwarf caiman; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:13:53.641347+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Cuvier, 1807)

Name authority

(Cuvier, 1807)

Common name

Cuvier's smooth-fronted caiman

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Crocodylia

Family

Alligatoridae

Genus

Paleosuchus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderCrocodylia
10. familyAlligatoridae
11. genusPaleosuchus
12. speciesPaleosuchus palpebrosus (Cuvier, 1807)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Paleosuchus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 5 records assigned to Alligatoridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Paleosuchus&species=palpebrosus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4C47J. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.