At Yaxchilan you can also find representations of crocodiles or caimans, not surprising since Yaxchilan also fronts the Rio Usumacinta, a river filled with reptiles. Native to Central America, the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is known to inhabit the mangrove swamps, salt lakes, and freshwater sources close to the mouth of the rivers of this region. For a time, it was obscured by a large cloud with beams shining both up and down toward the river. Draining an area of more than 40,000 square miles, it is the backbone for the *Lacandon Rainforest*. Morelet's Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) big male going to the water - Chiapas 2020.jpg 5,253 × 3,007; 6.66 MB. An active water taxi service brings tourists from Frontera every day. Recent, revolutionary technology known as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) allows scholars to remove digitally the tree canopy from aerial images of the now-unpopulated landscape. This Mayan city is next to a river that would have been filled with crocodiles 1,000 years ago (rivers in Belize still have crocodiles today). Combine serenades by howler monkeys while crocodiles bask on rocks near the water’s edge. Also the Copan Altar T has one or two crocodile-like creatures.
From perches high in the canopy their distinctive sound carried through the river corridor.The Mayan civilization reached its zenith during the classical era from 300 to 1000 AD. All rights reserved.We breathe freely on the water while the jungle seems impossibly dense. While most of the visitors spoke Spanish, we also heard French and English.A welcome relief from the heat of the day and exertion of rowing awaits us at a cascading travertine spring not far downstream. I’ve seen C. acutus and Morelet’s but not the caiman.
Date of experience: August 2016. The crocs in the photo didn’t look familiar to me.
The caiman has more color on its body than other crocodilians in Mesoamerica.There are two species of crocodiles and one species of alligator in the Mayan regions of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and Mexico.In other words, if you have to choose between saying the Maya featured crocodiles or alligators, I would vote for crocodiles. Indeed the name of the site is considered to mean “Submerged Crocodile.”Crocodylus acutus can be found from the USA south through Mexico and Guatemala, so they would have been known to many Mesoamerican cultures. So it is not surprising to find crocodilians in the art of the Izapan culture, which is geographically and in time roughly partway between the Olmec and the Classic Maya. It is one of the four extant species of crocodiles found in the Americas. Across the river is Guatemala. As it got dark, an impressive frog chorus sprung up across from us. The Usumacinta is the largest river in Mexico south of the Rio Grande.