Reptiles

According to The Reptile Database (2024), there are approximately 922 reptile species worldwide, with around 450 of them residing in the Amazon rainforest (Butler, 2017). These reptiles encompass crocodilians, turtles, lizards, and snakes. While most are carnivores, a few species function as herbivores and detritivores.

Because reptiles are vertebrates, they can experience emotions, including suffering. This means that every reptile death not only brings its species closer to extinction, but also causes individual pain. Recognizing this capacity for suffering, underscores why reptile lives should be valued in their own right.

There are a few reptiles in the Amazon rainforest that really stand out.  These are those reptiles.

Black Caiman

            The black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is the largest animal in the Amazon basin with a length of up 16 ft and weighing up 770 pounds (Rafferty).  Black caiman are the top predators of the waters in the Amazon basin which makes them a keystone species.  Black Caiman are list as Conservation Dependent by the Internation Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN Redlist).

Smooth-fronted Caiman

            The smooth-fronted caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus) is an unusual species of terrestrial crocodilian (Sacramento Zoo).  Fortunately, they only reach a length of 5.5 ft, so they are generally not a threat to humans.  If they were larger they could be a significant threat to humans on land.

Green Anaconda                                 

            The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is the world’s largest species of snake.  They can reach 30 feet in length with a diameter of 12 inches, and weigh up to 550 pounds (Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute).  Due to a movie named Anaconda, which got it’s own Rifftrax and deservedly so (Rifftrax Live Anaconda), I thought I might clear up some misconceptions.  Anacondas rarely feed on humans (Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute). Anacondas are excellent swimmers but are incredibly slow on land. Anacondas will not regurgitate someone they just ate so that they can eat someone else, that makes no sense, and being blown up is fatal to anacondas.  I thought I would give you those facts just in case you watched that movie and lost a few brain cells.

References:

(September 2024) The Reptile Database

http://www.reptile-database.org/db-info/SpeciesStat.html

Butler, Rhett (January 26, 2017) Amazon Reptiles Mongabay

https://worldrainforests.com/amazon/reptiles.html#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%20450,for%20the%20international%20pet%20trade.

Rafferty, John P. Black Caiman Brittanica

https://www.britannica.com/animal/black-caiman

Black Caiman IUCN Redlist

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13053/3407604

Smooth-fronted Caiman Sacramento Zoo

https://www.saczoo.org/smooth-fronted-caiman#:~:text=The%20smooth%2Dfronted%20caiman%20is,their%20territories%20and%20to%20feed.

Green Anaconda Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/green-anaconda#:~:text=Size-,Green%20anacondas%20are%20one%20of%20the%20largest%20snakes%20in%20the,5

Rifftrax Live Anaconda

https://www.rifftrax.com/event/rifftrax-live-anaconda