Misconceptions about the taxonomy and distribution of Caiman crocodilus chiapasius and C. crocodilus fuscus (Reptilia: Crocodylia: Alligatoridae)

Abstract

Four subspecies are currently recognized for the Spectacled Caiman, Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus 1758): Caiman crocodilus fuscus (Cope 1868: Perosuchus fuscus), described from a single specimen from the Magdalena River, Colombia; C. c. chiapasius (Bocourt 1876: Alligator chiapasius), described from the Tonalá Valley, Chiapas, México; C. c. apaporiensis (Medem 1955) from the upper Apaporis River, Colombia; and, C. c. crocodilus (Linnaeus 1758: Lacerta crocodilus), named for the species originally described (Smith & Smith 1977; Busack & Pandya 2001). Caiman yacare was previously considered to be a fifth subspecies (i.e., C. c. yacare), but it is now generally accepted that it is a full species (King & Burke 1989), and is no longer treated as a subspecies (Velasco & Ayarzagüena 2010). There is some confusion about the current distributions of C. c. chiapasius and C. c. fuscus, and although some works have attempted to clarify this situation (Busack & Pandya 2001), the confusion still remains (i.e., Rueda-Almonacid et al. 2007; Velasco & Ayarzagüena 2010). Here, we present a brief review of the taxonomic status of caiman subspecies, and its implications for their distributions.