The Marsh Phantom

The black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) currently lives in the deep, slow rivers and flooded rainforest of the Amazon Basin. It's almost black skin provides camouflage in dark murky water, and its long narrow snout is perfectly designed for catching fast-moving fish. Climate change will however transform this habitat over thousands of years. Rising temperatures will cause the Amazon to lose much of its trees, shifting toward open savanna and seasonal marshes. Rising sea levels will flood coastal regions, creating shallow wetlands. Future Caimans may evolve brown mottled skin for camouflage in muddy marshes and dry grass. Longer, stronger legs will let them travel across land between shrinking water sources. A smaller tail becomes less necessary as deep swimming decreases, and a skinnier body helps move on land. Without these adaptions, the black caiman may not survive in the Amazon.