CROCODILE

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The Crocodile is one of the largest living reptiles. Crocodiles, alligators, gavials, and caymans look much alike, and are all called crocodilians. Both crocodiles and alligators have a long, low, cigar-shaped body, short legs, and long powerful tails with which they swim. They both have tough hides, long snouts, and sharp teeth to grasp their prey. In most crocodiles, however, the snout comes to a point in front, where an alligator's snout is rounded. The American crocodile is only about two-thirds as heavy as an old American alligator of the same length and can move much more quickly. The lower fourth tooth is extra long in both animals. It fits into a pit in the alligator's upper jaw. But the crocodile's fourth tooth fits into a groove in the side of the upper jaw, and it is visible when the animal's jaws are closed. Crocodiles live in tropical countries throughout the world. They prefer large bodies of shallow water, sluggish rivers, open swamps, and marshes. Their webbed feet allow them to walk on the soft ground. Their eyes and nostrils are higher than the rest of the head. This arrangement fits in with the crocodile's life in the water, for it likes to float with only its eyes and nostrils above the surface. Its throat has a slitlike valve in front of the tube leading to its nostrils. This valve shuts tight when the animal is underwater. It keeps the water from entering through the mouth when the reptile seizes its prey. Crocodiles eat many small animals, such as fishes, birds, and turtles, which they seize and swallow whole. Occasionally they attack large animals and people. A crocodile can twist a large animal into pieces by seizing it and then rapidly spinning lengthwise in the water. Crocodiles are more aggressive than American or Chinese alligators. Large wild crocodiles should be left alone. Like most reptiles, crocodiles lay eggs. These look like hens' eggs, but are longer and have a less brittle shell. Crocodiles conceal their eggs in nests of rubbish and vegetation, or they bury them in sand beaches. The female of some types guards the nest until the young are hatched. When she can hear the young reptiles grunting, she digs them out of the nest. Some crocodiles help their young hatch and then carry them in their mouth to the water. Not much is known about the breeding habits and general behavior of crocodiles.

Most of the true crocodiles inhabit the Eastern Hemisphere, but four species live in North and South America. The American crocodile lives in the extreme south of Florida, on the larger West Indian islands, and in Central America and areas near it. The usual length of adult American crocodiles is about 12 feet (3.7 meters). The Nile crocodile is found widely in Africa. This animal lives almost everywhere on the continent except in the Sahara and on the northern coast. This reptile was known by ancient peoples and described by the Greek historian, Herodotus. The small, long-snouted crocodile of the Congo Basin grows no longer than 8 feet (2.4 meters). The two kinds of dwarf crocodilians of Africa, one of which is very rare, are closely related to true crocodiles. The giant saltwater crocodile lives in many places from India to northern Australia, and even in the Solomon Islands. The mugger lives in India and Pakistan, and the Siamese crocodile inhabits Java, Thailand, and nearby parts of Asia. There is also an Australian crocodile. Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula have the false gavial. The false gavial has a narrower snout than most other crocodilians. It uses its long snout to catch fish.

The crocodilians are remnants of a large and ancient group of reptiles. Fossils show that these reptiles once reached a length of 50 feet (15 meters). This is more than twice as long as any crocodiles living today. There are now 12 species of crocodiles. Crocodiles have been widely hunted for their hides, which manufacturers make into leather for shoes and handbags. Such hunting has caused three species--the American crocodile, Cuban crocodile, and Nile crocodile--to become endangered species. Laws now forbid crocodile hunting in many parts of the world, but these restrictions are difficult to enforce. Biologists in some areas have begun programs to collect crocodile eggs and hatch them in incubators. The baby crocodiles are then released into the wild.

Scientific Classification. Crocodiles belong to the family Crocodylidae. The Nile crocodile is Crocodylus niloticus. The American crocodile is C. acutus.