The Crocodiles of the Santa Rosa River, Venezuela: Population Status, Spatial Distribution and Reproductive Aspects

Crocodiles are one of the most successful vertebrate groups, represented by 23 living species, some in serious danger of extinction. One of them is the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus, Cuvier 1807), a widely distributed species in the Neotropic and considered vulnerable. This work was done in order to assess the population status, spatial distribution, habitat use and reproductive aspects of this species in the Santa Rosa River (Zulia State-Venezuela). Population Abundance Index (PAI) for the study area is 0.54 ind/Km was estimated at 30 individuals the population size (excluding neonates). The population structure is dominated by individuals class I (48.97%), followed by crocodiles class IV (14.28%). We report a crocodile nest with 38 eggs. This work constitutes the first record of American crocodile and its nests in the Santa Rosa River, Lake Maracaibo Basin and also summarizes the most important research on this species in Venezuela, making it an invaluable reference for all researchers to move into the study of these reptiles, especially in northern South America.