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Crocodilia () is an order of semiaquatic, predatory that are known as crocodilians. They appeared 83.5 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage) and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the . Members of the crocodilian total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order includes the crocodile (family Crocodylidae), the and (family Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae). Although the term "crocodiles" is sometimes used to refer to all of these families, the term "crocodilians" is less ambiguous.
Extant crocodilians have flat heads with long snouts and tails that are compressed on the sides, with their eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head. Alligators and caimans tend to have broader U-shaped jaws that, when closed, show only the upper teeth, whereas crocodiles usually have narrower V-shaped jaws with both rows of teeth visible when closed. Gharials have extremely slender, elongated jaws. The teeth are conical and peg-like, and the bite is powerful. All crocodilians are good swimmers and can move on land in a "high walk" position, traveling with their legs erect rather than sprawling. Crocodilians have thick skin covered in non-overlapping scales and, like birds, have a four-chambered heart and with unidirectional airflow.
Like most other reptiles, crocodilians are or 'cold-blooded'. They are found mainly in the warm and tropical areas of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, usually occupying freshwater habitats, though some can live in saline environments and even swim out to sea. Crocodilians have a largely carnivorous diet; some species like the gharial are specialized feeders while others, like the saltwater crocodile, have generalized diets. They are generally solitary and territorial, though they sometimes hunt in groups. During the breeding season, dominant males try to monopolize available females, who lay their eggs in holes or mounds and, like many birds, they care for their hatched young.
Some species of crocodilians, particularly the Nile crocodile, are known to have Crocodile attack, which through activities that include hunting, poaching, and habitat destruction are the greatest threat to crocodilian populations. Farming of crocodilians has greatly reduced unlawful trading in skins of wild-caught animals. Artistic and literary representations of crocodilians have appeared in human cultures around the world since at least Ancient Egypt.
Prior to 1988, Crocodilia was a group that encompassed the modern-day animals, as well as their more-distant relatives that are now classified in the larger groups Crocodylomorpha and Pseudosuchia. Under its current definition as a crown group, rather than a stem-based taxon, Crocodylia is now restricted to the last common ancestor of today's crocodilians and all of its descendants, living or extinct.
Crocodilia appears to be a Latinism of the Greek language word κροκόδειλος ( ), which means both lizard and Nile crocodile. Crocodylia, as coined by Wermuth in regards to the genus Crocodylus, appears to be derived from the Ancient Greek κρόκη ()—meaning shingle or pebble—and δρîλος or δρεîλος (), meaning worm. The name may refer to the animal's habit of resting on the pebbled shores of the Nile.Kelly, 2006. p. xiii.
Crocodylomorpha, the group that later give rise to modern crocodilians, emerged in the Late Triassic. The most-basal crocodylomorphs were large, whereas the ones that gave rise to crocodilians were small, slender, and leggy. This evolutionary grade, the "", first appeared around Carnian of the Late Triassic. They ate small, fast prey and survived into the Late Jurassic. As the Triassic ended, crocodylomorphs became the only surviving pseudosuchians.
Protosuchians were small, mostly terrestrial animals with short snouts and long limbs. They had bony armor in the form of two rows of plates extending from head to tail; this armor would still be found in later species. Their vertebrae were convex on the two main articulating surfaces. The secondary palate was little developed; it consisted only of a maxilla. The mesosuchians underwent a fusion of the to the secondary palate, and a great extension of the nasal passages behind the palatine and in front of the . This adaptation allowed the animal to breathe through its nostrils while its mouth was open underwater. The eusuchians continued this process; the interior nostrils now opened through an aperture in the pterygoid bones. The vertebrae of eusuchians had one convex and one concave articulating surface.Buffetaut, pp. 28–29. The oldest-known eusuchian is Hylaeochampsa vectiana from the Early Cretaceous whose remains occur on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. It was followed by crocodilians such as the Planocraniidae, the hoofed crocodiles, in the Palaeogene. Spanning the Cretaceous and Palaeogene periods is the genus Borealosuchus of North America, with six species, though its phylogenetic position is not settled.
Definitive alligatoroids first appeared during the Santonian-Campanian stages, while definitive longirostres first appeared during the Maastrichtian stage. The earliest-known alligatoroids and gavialoids include highly derived forms, which indicates the time of the divergence into the three lineages must have been a pre-Campanian event. Additionally, scientists conclude environmental factors played a major role in the evolution of crocodilians and their ancestors; warmer climate is associated with high evolutionary rates and large body sizes.
Recent molecular studies using DNA sequencing of living crocodilians have rejected the distinct group Brevirostres; the long-snouted gavialids are more closely related to crocodiles than to alligators, and the new grouping of gavialids and crocodiles is named Longirostres.
Below is a cladogram from 2021 showing the relationships of the major extant taxon crocodilian groups. This analysis was based on mitochondrial DNA, including that of the recently extinct Voay robustus:
Crocodilians range in size from the Paleosuchus and Osteolaemus, which reach , to the saltwater crocodile and Nile crocodile, which reach and weigh up to .Grigg and Kirshner, pp. 10, 24. Some prehistoric species such as the late-Cretaceous Deinosuchus were even larger, at up to about and . Crocodilians tend to be sexually dimorphic; males are much larger than females.Grigg and Gans, pp. 326–327.
The limbs move much the same as those of other ; the left forelimb moves first, followed by the right hindlimb, then right forelimb, and finally left hindlimb. The high walk of crocodilians, with the belly and most of the tail held off the ground and the limbs held directly under the bodies, resembles that of mammals and birds. The low walk is similar to the high walk, but the body is not raised, and is quite different from the sprawling walk of and lizards. Crocodilians can instantly change from one walk to the other; the high walk is the usual means of locomotion on land. The animal may immediately push up its body up use this form, or it may take one or two strides of low walk before raising the body. Unlike most other land vertebrates, when crocodilians increase their pace of travel, they increase the speed at which the lower half of each limb (rather than the whole leg) swings forward, so stride length increases while stride duration decreases.
Though they are typically slow on land, crocodilians can produce brief bursts of speed; some can run at for short distances.Kelly, pp. 81–82. In some small species, such as the freshwater crocodile, running can progress to galloping, which involves the hind limbs launching the body forward and the fore limbs subsequently taking the weight. Next, the hind limbs swing forward as the spine flexes Dorsoventral, and this sequence of movements is repeated. During terrestrial locomotion, a crocodilian can keep its back and tail straight because muscles attach the scales to the vertebrae. Whether on land or in water, crocodilians can jump or leap by pressing their tails and hind limbs against the substrate and launching themselves into the air.Grigg and Gans, p. 329. A fast entry into water from a muddy bank can be effected by plunging to the ground, twisting the body from side to side and splaying out the limbs.
Crocodilians have some of the strongest in the animal kingdom. In a study published in 2003, an American alligator's bite force was measured at up to ; and in a 2012 study, a saltwater crocodile's bite force was measured at . This study found no correlation between bite force and snout shape, though the gharial's extremely slender jaws are relatively weak and are built for quick jaw closure. The bite force of Deinosuchus may have measured , even greater than that of theropod dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus.
Crocodilian teeth vary from dull and rounded to sharp and pointed. Broad-snouted species have teeth that vary in size, while those of slender-snouted species are more consistent. In general, in crocodiles and gharials, both rows of teeth are visible when the jaws are closed because their teeth fit into grooves along the outside lining of the upper jaw. By contrast, the lower teeth of alligators and caimans normally fit into holes along the inside lining of the upper jaw, so they are hidden when the jaws are closed.Grigg and Gans, pp. 227–228.Grigg and Kirshner, p. 4. Crocodilians are , meaning each of their teeth are of the same type; they do not have different tooth types, such as canines and molars. Crocodilians are ; they are able to replace each of their approximately 80 teeth up to 50 times in their 35-to-75-year lifespan. Crocodilians are the only non-mammalian vertebrates with . Next to each full-grown tooth is a small replacement tooth and an odontogenic stem cell in the dental lamina that can be activated when required. Tooth replacement slows and eventually stops as the animal ages.
The ears are adapted for hearing both in air and underwater, and the are protected by flaps that can be opened or closed by muscles.Grigg and Gans, p. 335. Crocodilians have a wide hearing range, with sensitivity comparable to most birds and many mammals. Hearing in crocodilians does not degrade as the animal ages because they can regrow and replace . The well-developed trigeminal nerve allows them to detect vibrations in water, such as those made by potential prey. Crocodilians have a single Olfactory system and the vomeronasal organ disappears when they reach adulthood. Behavioural and olfactometer experiments indicate crocodiles detect both air-borne and water-soluble chemicals, and use their olfactory system for hunting. When above water, crocodiles enhance their ability to detect volatile odorants by gular pumping, a rhythmic movement of the floor of the pharynx. Crocodiles appear to have lost their pineal organ but still show signs of melatonin rhythms.
Some scutes contain a single pore known as an integumentary sense organ. Crocodiles and gharials have these on large parts of their bodies, while alligators and caimans only have them on the head. Their exact function is not fully understood, but it has been suggested they may be mechanosensory organs. There are prominent, paired integumentary glands in skin folds on the throat, and others in the side walls of the cloaca. Various functions for these have been suggested; they may play a part in communication—indirect evidence suggests they secrete used in courtship or nesting. The skin of crocodilians is tough and can withstand damage from Conspecificity, and the immune system is effective enough to heal wounds within a few days.Kelly, pp. 84–85. In the genus Crocodylus, the skin contains , allowing animals to change colour from dark to light and vice versa.
When submerged, a crocodilian's heart may beat at only once or twice a minute, with little blood flow to the muscle. When it rises and takes a breath, its heart rate almost immediately increases and the muscles receive newly oxygenated blood.Kelly, p. 78. Unlike many , crocodilians have little myoglobin to store oxygen in their muscles. While diving, an increasing concentration of bicarbonate ions causes haemoglobin in the blood to release oxygen for the muscles.
In crocodilians, the diaphragmaticus muscle, which is analogous to the diaphragm in mammals, attaches the lungs to the liver and pelvis. During inhalation, the external intercostal muscles expand the ribs, allowing the animal to take in more air, while the ischiopubis muscle causes the hips to swing downwards and push the belly outward, while the diaphragmaticus pulls the liver back. When exhaling, the internal intercostal muscles push the ribs inwards while the rectus abdominis pulls the hips and liver forwards and the belly inward. Crocodilians can also use these muscles to adjust the position of their lungs, controlling their buoyancy in the water. An animal sinks when the lungs are pulled towards the tail and floats when they move back towards the head. This allows them to move through the water without creating disturbances that could alert potential prey. They can also spin and twist by moving their lungs laterally.
When swimming and diving, crocodilians appear to rely on lung volume for buoyancy more than for oxygen storage. Just before diving, the animal exhales to reduce its lung volume and reach negative buoyancy. When diving, the nostrils of a crocodilian shut tight. All species have a palatal valve, a membranous flap of skin at the back of the oral cavity (mouth) that protects the oesophagus and trachea when the animal is underwater. This enables them to open their mouths underwater without drowning. Crocodilians typically remain underwater for up to fifteen minutes, but under ideal conditions, some can hold their breath for up to two hours. The depth to which crocodilians can dive is unknown, but crocodiles can dive to at least .
Crocodilians vocalize by vibrating in the larynx. (2025). 9780128151600, Academic Press. ISBN 9780128151600 The folds of the American alligator have a complex morphology consisting of epithelium, lamina propria and muscle, and according to Riede et al. (2015): "it is reasonable to expect species-specific morphologies in vocal folds/analogues as far back as basal reptiles". Although crocodilian vocal folds lack the elasticity of mammalian ones, the larynx is still capable of complex motor control similar to that in birds and mammals, and can adequately control its fundamental frequency.
Both the American and Chinese alligator can be found in areas that sometimes experience periods of frost in winter. In cold weather, alligators remain submerged with their tails in deeper, less-cold water and their nostrils projecting just above the surface. If ice forms on the water, they maintain ice-free breathing holes, and there have been occasions when their snouts have become frozen into ice. Temperature-sensing probes implanted in wild American alligators have found their core body temperatures can fall to around , but as long as they remain able to breathe, they show no ill effects when the weather warms.
The kidneys and excretory system are much the same as those in other reptiles, but crocodilians do not have a bladder. (2025). 9781416001195 ISBN 9781416001195 In fresh water, the osmolality (the concentration of solutes that contribute to a solution's osmotic pressure) in the Blood plasma is much higher than that of the surrounding water. The animals are well-hydrated, the urine in the cloaca is abundant and dilute, and nitrogen is excreted as ammonium bicarbonate.Grigg and Gans, pp. 333–334. Sodium loss is low and mainly occurs through the skin in freshwater conditions. In seawater, the opposite is true; the osmolality in the plasma is lower than that of the surrounding water, causing the animal to dehydrate. The cloacal urine is much more concentrated, white, and opaque, and nitrogenous waste is mostly excreted as insoluble uric acid.
Crocodilians use various types of aquatic habitats. Due to their diet, gharials are found in pools and backwaters of rapidly flowing rivers. Caimans prefer warm, Turbidity lakes and ponds, and slow-moving parts of rivers, although the dwarf caiman inhabits cool, relatively clear, fast-flowing waterways, often near waterfalls. The Chinese alligator is found in slow-moving, turbid rivers that flow across China's . The highly adaptable American alligator is found in swamps, rivers and lakes with clear or turbid water. Crocodiles live in marshes, lakes and rivers, and can live in saline environments including Estuary and mangrove swamps. American and saltwater crocodiles swim out to sea.Ross, p. 65. Several extinct species, including the recently extinct Ikanogavialis, which occurred in coastlines of the Solomon Islands, had marine habitats. Climatic factors locally affect crocodilians' distribution. During the dry season, caimans can be restricted for several months to deep pools in rivers; in the rainy season, much of the savanna in the Llanos is flooded, and they disperse widely across the plain.Alcala and Dy-Liacco, p. 141. West African crocodiles in the deserts of Mauritania mainly live in and but they retreat underground and to rocky shelters, and enter aestivation during the driest periods.
Crocodilians also use terrestrial habitats such as forests, savannas, grasslands and deserts. Dry land is used for basking, nesting and escaping from temperature extremes. Several species make use of shallow burrows on land to keep cool or warm, depending on the environment.Alcala and Dy-Liacco, pp. 144–146. Four species of crocodilians climb trees to bask in areas lacking a shoreline. Tropical rainforests bordering rivers and lakes inhabited by crocodilians are of great importance to them, creating microhabitats where they can flourish. The roots of the trees absorb rainwater and slowly release it back into the environment. This keeps crocodilian habitat moist during the dry season while preventing flooding during the wet season.Alcala and Dy-Liacco, p. 148.
In general, crocodilians are stalk-and-ambush predators, though hunting strategies vary between species an their prey. Terrestrial prey is stalked from the water's edge, and grabbed and drowned.Grigg and Gans, pp. 229–330. Gharials and other fish-eating species sweep their jaws from side-to-side to snatch prey; these animals can leap out of water to catch birds, bats and leaping fish. A small prey animal can be killed by whiplash as the predator shakes its head. When foraging for fish in shallow water, caiman use their tails and bodies to herd fish and may dig for bottom-dwelling invertebrates. The smooth-fronted caiman will leave water to hunt terrestrial prey.
Crocodilians are unable to chew and need to swallow food whole, so prey that is too large to swallow is torn into pieces. Crocodilians may be unable to deal with a large animal with a thick hide, and may wait until it becomes putrid and comes apart more easily. To tear a chunk of tissue from a large carcass, a crocodilian continuously spins its body while holding prey with its jaws, a manoeuvre that is known as the death roll. During cooperative feeding, some individuals may hold onto prey while others perform the roll. The animals do not fight, and each retires with a piece of flesh and awaits its next feeding turn.Pooley, pp. 88–91. After feeding together, individuals may depart alone. Crocodilians typically consume prey with their heads above water. The food is held with the tips of the jaws, tossed towards the back of the mouth by an upward jerk of the head and then gulped down. There is no hard evidence crocodilians cache kills for later consumption.Grigg and Kirshner, p. 220.
Depending on the species, female crocodilians may construct either holes or mounds as nests, the latter made from vegetation, litter, sand or soil. Nests are typically found near dens or caves. Those made by different females are sometimes close to each other, particularly in hole-nesting species. Clutches may contain between ten and fifty eggs. Crocodilian eggs are protected by hard shells made of calcium carbonate. The Egg incubation is two to three months. The sex of the developing, incubating young is temperature dependant; constant nest temperatures above produce more males, while those below produce more females. Sex in crocodilians may be established in a short period of time, and nests are subject to changes in temperature. Most natural nests produce hatchlings of both sexes, though single-sex clutches occur.
All of the hatchlings in a clutch may leave the nest on the same night. Crocodilians are unusual among reptiles in the amount of parental care provided after the young hatch. The mother helps excavate hatchlings from the nest and carries them to water in her mouth. Newly hatched crocodilians gather together and follow their mother.Kelly, pp. 89–91. Both male and female adult crocodilians will respond to vocalizations by hatchlings. (1996). 9780120045259 ISBN 9780120045259 Female spectacled caimans in the Venezuelan Llanos are known to leave their young in nurseries or crèches, and one female guards them. Hatchlings of some species tend to bask in a group during the day and start to forage separately in the evening. The time it takes young crocodilians to reach independence can vary. For American alligators, groups of young associate with adults for one-to-two years while juvenile saltwater and Nile crocodiles become independent in a few months.
Juveniles are highly vocal, both when scattering in the evening and congregating in the morning. Nearby adults, presumably the parents, may warn young of predators or alert them to the presence of food. The range and quantity of vocalisations vary between species. Alligators and caimans are the noisiest while some crocodile species are almost completely silent. In some crocodile species, individuals "roar" at others when they get too close. The American alligator is exceptionally noisy; it emits a series of up to seven throaty bellows, each a couple of seconds long, at ten-second intervals. It also makes various grunts, growls and hisses. Males create vibrations in water to send out infrasonic signals that attract females and intimidate rivals. The enlarged boss of the male gharial may serve as a Vocal resonation.
The head slap is another form of acoustic communication. This typically starts when an animal in water elevates its snout and remaining stationary. After some time, the jaws are sharply opened then clamped shut with a biting motion that makes a loud, slapping sound that is immediately followed by a loud splash, after which the head may immerse below the surface and blow bubbles from the throat or nostrils. Some species then roar while others slap water with their tails. Episodes of head slapping spread through the group. The purpose varies and it seems have a social function, and is also used in courtship. Dominant individuals intimidate rivals by swimming at the surface and displaying their large body size, and subordinates submit by holding their head forward above water with the jaws open and then flee below.
In addition to terrestrial predators, young are subject to aquatic attacks by fish. Birds take their toll, and malformed individuals are unlikely to survive. In northern Australia, the survival rate for saltwater crocodile hatchlings is 25 percent but this improves with each year of life, reaching up to 60 percent by year five. Mortality rates among subadults and adults are low, though they are occasionally preyed upon by Felidae and Snake. and may defensively kill crocodiles. Authorities are uncertain how much cannibalism occurs among crocodilians. Adults do not normally eat their own offspring but there is some evidence of subadults feeding on juveniles, while subadults may be preyed on by adults. Adults appear more likely to protect juveniles and may chase away subadults from nurseries. Rival male Nile crocodiles sometimes kill each other during the breeding season.
Growth in hatchlings and young crocodilians depends on the food supply. Animals reach sexual maturity at a certain length, regardless of age. Saltwater crocodiles reach maturity at for females and for males. Australian freshwater crocodiles take ten years to reach maturity at . The spectacled caiman matures earlier, reaching its mature length of in four to seven years. Crocodilians continue to grow throughout their lives; males in particular continue to gain weight as they age, but this is mostly in the form of extra girth rather than length.Huchzermeyer, p. 31. Crocodilians can live for 35–75 years; their age can be determined by growth rings in their bones.
It is estimated over 1,000 attacks by the Nile crocodile occurred between 2010 and 2020, almost 70% of which were fatal. The species is considered to be the most-dangerous large predator in Africa, particularly because it is both widespread and numerous. It can easily sneak up on people or domestic animals at the edge of water. Fishers, bathers, waders and those washing clothes are particularly vulnerable. Once grabbed and dragged into water, it is unlikely the victim will escape. Analysis of attacks show most-such attacks take place when crocodiles are guarding nests or newly hatched young.Pooley, Hines and Shield, pp. 174–177.
Saltwater crocodiles have been implicated in over 1,300 attacks on humans between 2010 and 2020, almost half of which were fatal. Animals of various sizes may attack humans but large males are generally responsible for fatalities. Large animals require large prey, and humans are the correct size. Most victims of attacks by saltwater crocodile attacks have been in water but they occasionally occur on land. Saltwater crocodiles sometimes attack boats but do not usually appear to be targeting the occupants. Attacks occur when a human encroaches on the crocodile's territory. American alligators were responsible for 127 recorded attacks between 2010 and 2020, only six of which were fatal. Alligators are considered to be less aggressive than Nile and saltwater crocodiles,Kelly, pp. 61–62. but the increase in density of the human population in the Everglades has brought people and alligators into proximity, increasing the risk of alligator attacks.
Several species of crocodilian are traded as . They are appealing when young but crocodilians do not make good pets; they grow large, and are dangerous and expensive to keep. As they grow older, pet crocodilians are often abandoned by their owners, and feral populations of spectacled caimans exist in the United States and Cuba. Most countries have strict regulations for keeping these reptiles.Kelly, pp. 208–211.
The blood of alligators and crocodiles contains with antibiotic properties that may contribute to future antibacterial drugs. Cartilage from farm-raised crocodiles is used in research aiming to 3D-print new cartilage for humans by mixing human with liquefied crocodile cartilage after proteins that may trigger the human immune system have been removed.
The main threat to crocodilians worldwide is human activity, including hunting and habitat destruction. Early in the 1970s, more than 2 million wild crocodilian skins had been traded, depleting the majority of crocodilian populations, in some cases almost to extinction. Starting in 1973, CITES attempted to prevent trade in body parts of endangered animals, such as crocodile skins. This proved to be problematic in the 1980s because in some parts of Africa, crocodiles were abundant and dangerous to humans, and hunting them was legal. At the Conference of the Parties in Botswana in 1983, it was argued on behalf of aggrieved local people the selling of lawfully hunted skins was reasonable. In the late 1970s, crocodile farming began in different countries, starting from eggs taken from the wild. By the 1980s, farmed crocodile skins were produced in sufficient numbers to greatly diminish the unlawful trade in wild crocodilians. By 2000, skins from twelve crocodilian species, whether harvested lawfully in the wild or farmed, were traded by thirty countries and the unlawful trade had almost vanished.
The gharial was historically widespread in the major river systems of India but has undergone a chronic decline since 1943. Major threats have included prolific hunting, bycatch and water blockage from dams. The gharial population continues to be threatened by environmental hazards such as heavy metals and parasites. Protection of nests against egg predators has been shown to increase population numbers. The Chinese alligator was historically widespread in the eastern Yangtze River system but is currently restricted to some areas in south-eastern Anhui due to habitat fragmentation and degradation. The wild population is believed to exist only in small, fragmented ponds. In 1972, the Chinese government declared the species a Class I endangered species and it received the maximum amount of legal protection. Since 1979, captive breeding programmes were established in China and North America, creating a healthy captive population. In 2008, alligators bred in the Bronx Zoo were successfully reintroduced to Chongming Island. The Philippine crocodile may be the most-threatened crocodilian; hunting and destructive fishing habits have reduced its numbers to around 100 individuals by 2009. In the same year, 50 captive-bred crocodiles were released into the wild to help boost the population. Support from local people is crucial for the species' survival.
The American alligator has also undergone serious declines from hunting and habitat loss throughout its range, threatening it with extinction. In 1967, it was listed as an endangered species but the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies in the southern United States stepped in and worked towards its recovery. Protection allowed the species to recuperate and in 1987 it was removed from the endangered species list. In Australia, the saltwater crocodile was heavily hunted and was reduced to five percent of its historical numbers in the Northern Territory by 1971. Since then, the species was given legal protections and its numbers had greatly increased by 2001.
The gharial features in the folk tales of India. In one story, a gharial and a monkey become friends when the monkey gives the gharial fruit but the friendship ends after the gharial confesses it tried to lure the monkey into a house to eat it.Kelly, pp. 45–46. Native American and African American folk tales often pair an alligator with a trickster rabbit, Br'er Rabbit in the African American stories.Kelly, p. 62. An Australian Dreamtime story tells of a crocodile ancestor who had fire all to himself until a rainbow bird stole fire-sticks for man, hence the crocodile lives in water.Wylie, pp. 120–121.
Since the ninth-century text Bibliotheca by Photios I of Constantinople, crocodiles have been crocodile tears for their victims. The story became widely known in 1400 when the English traveller John Mandeville wrote his description of "cockodrills":
Crocodilians have been recurring characters in stories for children, such as Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile (1978) and Emily Gravett's The Odd Egg (2008).Wyle p. 181 Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) contains the poem How Doth the Little Crocodile. In J. M. Barrie's novel Peter and Wendy (1911), Captain Hook losses his hand to a crocodile.Wylie pp. 171–172 In Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories (1902), the Elephant's Child acquires his trunk by having his nose pulled very hard by a crocodile.Wylie pp. 72–73
In movies and shows, crocodilians are often represented as dangerous water obstacles or as monstrous man-eaters, as in the horror films Eaten Alive (1977), Alligator (1980), Lake Placid (1999), Crocodile (2000), Primeval (2007) and Black Water (2007).Wylie p. 183. In the film Crocodile Dundee (1986), the title character Mick Dundee's nickname comes from the animal that bit off his leg.Kelly. pp. 234–235. Some media texts, such as Steve Irwin's wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter, have attempted to portray crocodilians in a more positive or educational tone.Kelly. p. 228.
Uses
Crocodilians have been hunted for their skin, meat and bones. Their tough skin has been used to make handbags, coats, footwear, wallets and other items. The meat has been compared to that of chicken and may be used as an aphrodisiac. The bones, teeth and Pickling heads of crocodilians are used as souvenirs, while other tissues and fluids are ingredients in traditional medicine. have been established to meet the demand for crocodilian products; species bred on these farms are listed under Appendix II of CITES, which allows regulated trade.Grigg and Kirshner, p. 591. A study examining alligator farms in the United States showed they have generated significant conservation gains and poaching of wild alligators has greatly diminished.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species recognises 26 species of crocodilian and classes 11 of them as threatened including:
Cultural depictions
In mythology and folklore
Crocodilians have prominent roles in the narratives of various cultures around the world and may have inspired stories of .Kelly, p. 41. In ancient Egyptian religion, both Ammit the devourer of unworthy souls and Sobek the god of power, protection and fertility are represented as having crocodile heads. This reflects the ancient Egyptians' view of the crocodile as both a terrifying predator and an important part of the Nile ecosystem. The crocodile was one of several Animal mummy.Kelly, pp. 49–50. West African peoples also associated crocodiles with water deities. During the Benin Empire, crocodiles symbolised the power of the oba (king) and linked him to the life-giving rivers.Wylie, pp. 46, 51. The Leviathan described in the Book of Job may have been based on a crocodile.Wylie, p. 28. In Mesoamerica, the had a crocodilian god of fertility named Cipactli who protected crops. In Aztec mythology, the earth deity Tlaltecuhtli is said to bond with a "great caiman". The Maya also worshipped crocodilian gods and believed the world is supported on the back of a swimming crocodile.Kelly, pp. 58–59.
In literature and media
Ancient historians have described crocodilians from the earliest written records, though often their descriptions contain as much assumption as observation. The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BC) described the crocodile in detail, though much of his description is fanciful; he claimed the crocodile would lie with its mouth open to permit a "trochilus" bird, possibly an Egyptian plover, to remove . The crocodile was described in the late-13th century Rochester Bestiary, which is based on classical sources, including Pliny's Historia naturalis (c. 79 AD) and Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae. Isidore said the crocodile is named for its saffron colour (Latin croceus, 'saffron') and may be killed by fish with serrated crests sawing into its soft underbelly.
In that country of and by all Ind India be great plenty of cockodrills, that is a manner of a long serpent, as I have said before. And in the night they dwell in the water, and on the day upon the land, in rocks and in caves. And they eat no meat in all the winter, but they lie as in a dream, as do the serpents. These serpents slay men, and they eat them weeping; and when they eat they move the over jaw, and not the nether jaw, and they have no tongue.
Citations
Bibliography
(1992). 9781853910920, Blitz. ISBN 9781853910920
External links
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