Which Amazonian crocodilian is the largest predator in the Amazon Basin?

The black caiman is the largest predator in the Amazon Basin.

The black caiman is a large crocodilian found across much of northern South America, especially in slow-moving rivers, lakes and flooded forests. Large males can grow beyond 4 metres, with exceptional individuals reported at greater lengths. Its dark coloration helps it blend into shadowed water at night.

Black caimans eat fish, birds, turtles and mammals. Large adults can take substantial prey, including capybaras and other river-edge animals. They are important top predators in Amazonian aquatic ecosystems.

The species suffered severe population declines during the twentieth century because its skin was valuable to the leather trade. Legal protection and conservation have allowed some populations to recover, but hunting and habitat changes still affect the species. It is larger than the spectacled caiman, the more widespread relative that is often confused with it.