Crocodylus halli, also known as Hall's New Guinea crocodile, is a species of crocodile Endemism to the island of New Guinea. It is found on the southern half of the island, south of the New Guinea highlands. It is named after Philip M. Hall, a researcher at the University of Florida who performed the initial studies to clarify the species' distinctiveness.
Taxonomy
The species was formerly considered a distinct population of the closely related New Guinea crocodile (
C. novaeguineae), but
genetic analysis as well as morphological analysis of its skull structure (namely the
postcrania and
maxilla) has supported it being classified as its own species. The two species likely diverged within the last 3-8 million years, when the uplift of the New Guinea highlands created a barrier that divided them into separate populations. Despite the common ancestry of the two species, genetic analysis indicates that the New Guinea crocodile may be more closely related to the putative
Borneo crocodile (
C. raninus) than to Hall's New Guinea crocodile. This may indicate that
C. novaeguinae and
C. raninus diverged from each other even more recently than their ancestor did from
C. halli, or that the specimen used for
C. raninus was actually a misidentified
C. novaeguinae.
Phylogeny
Below is a
cladogram based on a 2018
tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (
DNA sequencing), and
stratigraphic (
fossil age) data,
as revised in 2021 after a
paleogenomics study using DNA extracted from the extinct
Voay.
placement suggested in 2023 study by Sales-Oliveira
et al.
Distribution
The species occurs in swamps, rivers, and lakes in the southern half of New Guinea. It is known to occasionally enter
Estuary, such as the
Fly River estuary. Variation is known from individuals across the range, with individuals from Lake Murray having a much wider skull than those from the Aramia River.
Behavior
The species nests during New Guinea's
wet season (November - April), in contrast to
C. novaeguineae, which nests near the end of the
dry season (July - November).
In captivity
Three captive crocodiles at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, formerly considered individuals of
C. novaeguinae, were actually found to be
C. halli while the study was being conducted. These were used to substantiate observed differences between
C. halli and
C. novaeguinae.
Commercial use
People in the city of
Merauke,
South Papua, are also known for processing the skin of this species of crocodile into various kinds of leather crafts, which are quite economically valuable and renowned for their quality.
