American Crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
Description 2
The American crocodile has a stocky body with a long, powerful tail. The short but muscular legs end in sharp claws and the long triangular snout contains 14 to 15 sharp, conical teeth on each side. The ears, eyes and nostrils are located on the top of the head so that nearly the whole body can be submerged. A fold of skin can close the windpipe to enable the crocodile to open its mouth underwater and breathe through the nostrils. The eyes can be covered with a third eyelid to protect them underwater and the ears are covered with a flap of skin. The pupils are vertical slits to help with night vision and there is a distinct swelling in front of each eye.
Habitat 3
American crocodiles can be found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats, but are most commonly found in tropical wetlands such as mangrove-lined saltwater estuaries and lagoons. They construct long burrows to avoid adverse conditions.
Conservation 4
The American crocodile is fully protected in the majority of its range, but enforcement of this protection is inadequate, and legal hunters of caiman are known to illegally hunt American crocodiles as well.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Doug Greenberg, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/25397257@N00/1342741701
- Adapted by okaloosascience from a work by (c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6691585
- (c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6691587
- Adapted by okaloosascience from a work by (c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6691590
