Abstract

DA COSTA, Igor David  and  DOS SANTOS NUNES, Natalia Neto. Characterization of the diet of Melanosuchus niger (Spix, 1825) and Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Resex Lago do Cuniã, Rondônia. rev. colombiana cienc. anim. Recia [online]. 2019, vol.11, n.1, pp.90-101. ISSN 2027-4297.  https://doi.org/10.24188/recia.v11.n1.2019.708.

The aim of this study was to characterize the diet of male individuals of Melanosuchus niger and Caiman crocodilus in a lake at the Reserva Extrativista do Lago do Cuniã, Rondônia. We collected guts of the animals in November/2016, rainy season, provided by the local Cooperative (COOPCuniã). Caimans abdominal cavities were opened and their stomach were removed, after the gut contents were stored in 70% alcohol, and food items were analyzed. We analyzed 82 stomachs, 42 of M. niger and 40 of C. crocodilus. Food items such as fragments of birds, amphibians, crustaceans, insects, and plant material were ingered by the species studied. However, the most representative items in the diet of M. niger and C. crocodilus were fishes from the Characifomes and Siluriformes order of no commercial importance.

Keywords : Amazonia; Conservation; Crocodilians; Feeding; Trophic ecology.

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