Freshwater crocodileThe freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni), also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnstone's crocodile or the freshie, is a species of crocodile endemic to the northern regions of Australia. Unlike their much larger Australian relative, the saltwater crocodile, freshwater crocodiles are not known as man-eaters, although they bite in self-defence, and brief, nonfatal attacks have occurred, apparently the result of mistaken identity.
CrocodylusCrocodylus is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. The generic name, Crocodylus, was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. Crocodylus contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species. There are additional extinct species attributed to the genus Crocodylus that studies have shown no longer belong, although they have not yet been reassigned to new genera. The 13–14 living species are: Crocodylus also includes five extinct species: † Crocodylus anthropophagus is an extinct crocodile from Plio-Pleistocene of Tanzania.
Cuban crocodileThe Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is a small-medium species of crocodile endemic to Cuba. Typical length is and typical weight . Large males can reach as much as in length and weigh more than . Despite its smaller size, it is a highly aggressive animal (one of the most territorial of all crocodilians), and potentially dangerous to humans. The Cuban crocodile is of interest to biologists, for its unique physical and behavioral traits. Long- and strong-legged, it is the most terrestrial of extant crocodiles.
American crocodileThe American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru and Venezuela. The habitat of the American crocodile consists largely of coastal areas. It is also found in river systems, but tends to prefer salinity, resulting in the species congregating in brackish lakes, mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and small islands.
Orinoco crocodileThe Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, and they can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to in the past, weighing over , but such sizes do not exist today, being a more widely accepted maximum size.
Crocodylus palaeindicusCrocodylus palaeindicus is an extinct species of crocodile from southern Asia. C. palaeindicus lived from the Miocene to the Pliocene. It may be an ancestor of the living Mugger crocodile. C. palaeindicus was first named by Scottish paleontologist Hugh Falconer in 1859. Falconer found fossils of the species in the Siwalik Hills of India along with the remains of many other animals like turtles, ostriches, camels, saber-toothed cats, mastodons. Richard Lydekker later named another crocodile from the Siwalik Hills which he called C.
Crocodylus checchiaiCrocodylus checchiai is an extinct species of crocodile from the Miocene to Pliocene of Libya and Kenya. C. checchiai was named in 1947 based on a skull from the Sahabi Formation. Remains from the lower Nawata Formation in the Turkana Basin of Kenya that were first attributed to the Nile crocodile have now been reassigned to C. checchiai, extending its geographic range. The morphology of the species, in particular the pronounced rostral boss, indicates that it may be the connecting link between African and American species of the genus Crocodylus.
Philippine crocodileThe Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis), also known as the Mindoro crocodile, the Philippine freshwater crocodile, the bukarot in Ilocano, and more generally as a buwaya in most Filipino lowland cultures, is one of two species of crocodiles found in the Philippines; the other is the larger saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). The Philippine crocodile, the species endemic only to the country, went from data deficient to critically endangered in 2008 from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods, such as dynamite fishing.
Morelet's crocodileMorelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii), also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in fresh waters of the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about in length. It is a Least Concern species. The species has a fossil record in Guatemala. Morelet's crocodile was first described in 1850 in Mexico by the French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet. The species was subsequently named after him.
Mugger crocodileThe mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, lakes, rivers and artificial ponds. It rarely reaches a body length of and is a powerful swimmer, but also walks on land in search of suitable waterbodies during the hot season. Both young and adult mugger crocodiles dig burrows to which they retreat when the ambient temperature drops below or exceeds .
