Crocodile

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Crocodile Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Recent

Nile Crocodile
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Crocodylidae Cuvier, 1807
Genera
Crocodylus Osteolaemus See full taxonomy.

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), or even the Crocodylomorpha which includes prehistoric crocodile relatives and ancestors. Crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodiles tend to congregate in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. They feed mostly on vertebrates like fish, reptiles, and mammals, sometimes on invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans, depending on species. They are an ancient lineage, and are believed to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. They are believed to be 200 million years old whereas dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago; crocodiles survived great extinction events.

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Taxonomy of the Crocodylidae

Most species are grouped into the genus Crocodylus. The other extant genus, Osteolaemus, is monotypic (as is Mecistops, if recognized).

Family Crocodylidae
- Subfamily Mekosuchinae (extinct)
- Subfamily Crocodylinae
  - Genus Crocodylus
    - Crocodylus acutus, American Crocodile
    - Crocodylus cataphractus, Slender-snouted Crocodile (studies in DNA and morphology suggest that this species may be more basal than Crocodylus, and therefore belongs in its own genus, Mecistops)
    - Crocodylus intermedius, Orinoco Crocodile
    - Crocodylus johnsoni, Freshwater Crocodile
    - Crocodylus mindorensis, Philippine Crocodile
    - Crocodylus moreletii, Morelet's Crocodile or Mexican Crocodile
    - Crocodylus niloticus, Nile Crocodile or African Crocodile (the subspecies found in Madagascar is sometimes called the Black Crocodile)
    - Crocodylus novaeguineae, New Guinea Crocodile
    - Crocodylus palustris, Mugger Crocodile, Marsh Crocodile, or Indian Crocodile
    - Crocodylus porosus, Saltwater Crocodile or Estuarine Crocodile
    - Crocodylus rhombifer, Cuban Crocodile
    - Crocodylus siamensis, Siamese Crocodile
  - Genus Osteolaemus
    - Osteolaemus tetraspis, Dwarf Crocodile (there has been controversy whether or not this is actually two species; current thinking is that there is one species with 2 subspecies: O. tetraspis tetraspis & O. t. osborni)
  - Genus †Euthecodon
  - Genus †Rimasuchus (formerly Crocodylus lloydi)
  - Genus †Asiatosuchus

Some of the extinct relatives of true crocodiles, members of the larger group Crocodylomorpha, were herbivorous.

Crocodile products

Crocodile leather can be made into goods such as wallets, briefcases, purses, handbags, belts, hats, and shoes.

Crocodile is consumed in some countries, such as Australia, Ethiopia, Thailand, South Africa and also Cuba (in pickled form); it can also be found in specialty restaurants in some parts of the United States. The meat is white and its nutritional composition compares favourably with that of other meats. It tends to have a slightly higher cholesterol level than other meats. Crocodile meat has a delicate flavour; some describe it as a cross between chicken and crab. Cuts of meat include backstrap and tail fillet.

Crocodile oil has been used for centuries as a natural healing skin balm.

References

Grigg, Gordon and Gans, Carl (1993) Morphology And Physiology Of The Crocodylia, in Fauna of Australia Vol 2A Amphibia and Reptilia, chapter 40, pages 326-336. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. PDF
McAliley, Willis, Ray, White, Brochu & Densmore (2006). Are crocodiles really monophyletic?—Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39:16-32.

External links

Extant Crocodilian species

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
(unranked): Archosauria
Superorder: Crocodylomorpha

Family Alligatoridae (Alligators and caimans)

Alligatorinae
(Alligators)

Alligator	American alligator (A. mississippiensis) Chinese alligator (A. sinensis)

Caimaninae
(Caimans)

Caiman	Spectacled caiman (C. crocodilus) Broad-snouted caiman (C. latirostris) Yacare caiman (C. yacare)
Melanosuchus	Black caiman (M. niger)
Paleosuchus	Cuvier's dwarf caiman (P. palpebrosus) Smooth-fronted caiman (P. trigonatus)

Family Crocodylidae (True crocodiles)

Crocodylinae

Crocodylus

Osteolaeminae

Mecistops	West African slender snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus)
Osteolaemus	Dwarf crocodile (O. tetraspis) Osborn’s dwarf crocodile (O. osborni)

Family Gavialidae

Gavialis	Gharial (G. gangeticus)
Tomistoma	False gharial (T. schlegelii)

Reptiles portal

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Human interaction	Fatal alligator attacks Crocodile attacks Crocodile farm Crocodile tears Famous crocodiles and alligators Sewer alligator

Categories:

Misplaced Pages

Taxonomy of the Crocodylidae

Crocodile products

References

Further reading

See also

External links