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Paleosuchus trigonatus (SCHNEIDER, 1801)

IUCN Red List - Paleosuchus trigonatus - Least Concern, LR
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Higher TaxaAlligatoridae, Crocodylia, crocodiles (alligators)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Schneider's smooth-fronted caiman, Cachirre, Jacaré coroa.
G: Keilkopf-Glattstirnkaiman
Portuguese: Caimão-de-Cara-Lisa, Jacaré-de-Cara-Lisa, Jacaré-Pedra, Jacaré-Coroa, Jacaré-Curuá 
SynonymCrocodilus trigonatus SCHNEIDER 1801: 161
Paleosuchus trigonatus — DUELLMAN 1978: 195
Paleosuchus trigonatus — KING & BURKE 1989
Paleosuchus trigonatus — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999
Paleosuchus trigonatus — LEHR 2002: 69
Paleosuchus trigonatus — HERNÁNDEZ-RANGEL et al. 2024 
DistributionBolivia (Beni), Brazil (incl. Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Roraima), Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela. Much overlap with Paleosuchus palpebrosus, but not as extensive southwards (probably due to a decreased cold tolerance in comparison with P. palpebrosus).

Type locality: unknown (fide WERMUTH & MERTENS 1977)  
Reproductionoviparous. Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesLectotype: ZMB 243, Paralectotype: ZFMK 52352. KING & BURKE 1989 listed ZMB 243 (erroneously) as holotype. 
Diagnosis 
CommentMüller (1924: 319) showed that Crocodylus niloticus was based on Seba's illustration of Paleosuchus trigonatus; see also Schmidt (1928); Stejneger (1933); and Mook and Mook (1940) (after King & Burke 1989).

Type species: Crocodilus trigonatus SCHNEIDER 1801: 161 is the type species of the genus Paleosuchus GRAY 1862: 330. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek trigonos = three-cornered and the Latin suffic -atus, meaning provided with; a reference to the shape of the head.

The genus was named after Greek palaios = ancient; and Greek soukhos, the name for the crocodile in one part of Egypt (fide Gotch 1986). 
References
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  • Bauer, A.M. & Lavilla, E.O. (eds.) 2021. J. G. Schneider’s Historiae Amphibiorum: Herpetology at the Dawn of the 19th Century. SSAR, 848 pp. - get paper here
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  • Campos, Z., Muniz, F., Magnusson, W. E., Rodrigues, D., Rossi, R., Júnior, N. S., & Silva, R. L. 2022. A growth model for Paleosuchus trigonatus (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) from the Rio Negro predicts growth of individuals from the Xingu River, Brazil. Phyllomedusa 21(2): 117-123 - get paper here
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