| Named By: | R. SalasinGismondi, J. J. Flynn, P. Baby, J. V. TejadainLara, F. P. Wesselingh & P.inO. Antoine in 2015 |
| Time Period: | Mid-Late Miocene (Laventan-Montehermosan)~13.8-5.332 Ma |
| Location: | Peru - Pebas Formation |
| Size: | Estimated about 1.7-1.9 meters long |
| Diet: | Carnivore/Durophagous |
| Fossil(s): | Partial skull |
| Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Crocodylomorpha | Crocodilia | Alligatoridae | Caimaninae | |
Caiman wannlangstoni is an extinct species of caiman that lived in what is now the Amazon Basin and surrounding areas during the Middle and Late Miocene. Fossils of C. wannlangstoni have been found in the Pebas Formation near Iquitos in Peru and include partial skulls and isolated skull bones. Other fossils were uncovered from the Urumaco Formation in Venezuela and the Laventan Honda Group of Colombia. The species was first described in 2015 and the name honors Wann Langston, Jr., a paleontologist who studied South American fossil crocodylians for many decades. Features that in combination distinguish C. wannlangstoni from other caimans include a deep snout, a wavy upper jaw margin, a large and upward-directed narial opening (hole for the nostrils), and blunt teeth at the back of the jaws. Based on the sizes of the skulls, its estimated body length is about 211 to 227 centimetres (6.92 to 7.45 ft).