Cocodrilos

Crocodiles are one of the largest reptiles in the animal kingdom. And also one of the ones that scares us the most because, despite the fact that they seem slow, they are quite fast, especially in the water.

If you want to know the characteristics of crocodiles, where they live, what they eat, what is their reproduction or the types that exist, be sure to take a look at the information that we have prepared for you.

Characteristics of crocodiles

The crocodile, of the family crocodile, is actually a reptile, one of the largest that exist. It can reach from 1-1,5 meters to reach or even exceed 7 meters in length and a weight of more than 2000 kilos. It is known that there were even larger species of crocodiles, which does not rule out that they can exceed these sizes.

Its body is divided into four distinct parts. On the one hand, we have the part of the crocodile's skull, which is triangular in shape and from which eyes with vertical pupils protrude and which attract a lot of attention due to the coldness they show. Then, you have the part of the mouth and the teeth, in front of the head itself. It is made up of several dozens of very sharp teeth and capable of splitting their victims in half since the strength of their jaws is incredible and the same happens with their mouths, capable of opening it, in some species, almost to a 90 degree angle.

El Crocodile body is protected by bony plates. They are similar to fish scales, although they are much harder and more resistant. In the lower part, that is, in the belly, they are weaker and in fact it is one of the weak points of these animals because their body is not well protected in that area (precisely the one that is most in contact with the surface at time to move around the earth).

Finally, you have the tail, with an imposing aspect, and very muscular and strong. He is able to use it to swim, but also to protect himself in case of danger.

As for their limbs, they are very short and for this reason they move very slowly on land, although they are capable of "running" at a speed of 2-4 km/hour and even higher for a short period of time. These legs are webbed to help him be faster, although it is really the tail that gives him movement.

Crocodiles have two very well developed senses; on the one hand, their sight, since they are capable of spotting their prey from several meters away; on the other, the ear. In addition, they have an important characteristic and that is that, when they lose a tooth, another one comes out.

As for his life expectancy, this is quite high. It is estimated that they can live several decades under natural conditions (between 50 and 80 years).

The character of the crocodiles

Crocodiles are very fierce animals. Although they don't move in plain sight, they are actually very fierce and have a very bad temper. They are very territorial and aggressive, especially when something they can sense as an invader enters their habitat. They also use that fury when fighting with the aim of attracting the attention of the females.

Habitat

The main habitat of crocodiles covers varied areas, but mainly you can find it in the tropics of Asia, Africa, America and Australia. They like to live in rivers, generally slow currents, and are capable of surviving in salt water or fresh water.

Although they live more in the water, that does not mean that they do not come out of it. In fact they do, so you can find it outside of it, although they don't usually stray too far from the water.

types of crocodiles

Currently, the crocodile has 14 subspecies. These are:

• A sharp crocodile (American, king lizard, proboscis crocodile…)
• Crocodylus cataphractus (African snout)
• El Crocodylus intermedius (from the Orinoco or Orinoco alligator or llanero)
• Crocodylus johnstoni (from Johnston or Australian freshwater)
• Crocodylus mindorensis (Filipino or Mindoro)
• El Crocodylus moreletii (from swamp, Morelet or Mexican crocodile)
• Crocodylus niloticus (of the Nile)
• Crocodylus novaeguineae (from New Guinea)
• El crocodylus palustris (from the marshes, Iranian, Hindu or Persian)
• Crocodylus porosus (marine, saltwater or estuarine or porous crocodile)
• Crocodylus rhombifer (Cuban)
• El Crocodylus siamensis (Siamese)
• Crocodylus suchus (West African crocodile, also called the desert)
• Osteolaemus tetraspis (dwarf crocodile)

what do crocodiles eat

The diet of crocodiles is quite diverse. In addition to eating other animals, especially smaller than themselves, they are often capable of going for larger prey, such as zebras, buffaloes, wildebeest... Depending on the size of the reptile, it will opt more for a victim or for other.

They hunt in a very stealthy way, approaching underwater and going very slowly so that no one notices their presence, and then, emerge by surprise without giving its victim time to recoil to escape its jaws. The moment it captures even a part of its prey, it pushes it into the water with the aim of drowning it, holding the other animal with its body, legs and tail until it stops offering resistance.

After that, they are in charge of cutting their food into pieces and ingesting the food almost in one bite, their stomach being in charge of digesting the bones or shells.

The reproduction

Crocodiles reproduce oviparously and do so as soon as they reach sexual maturity, which they will do depending on the species as well as their size and age.

In general, when reproduction takes place, they build nests made of mud and vegetables to protect the eggs. This nest is protected by mothers so that other animals will not eat their eggs.

Something striking is that all the eggs hatch at the same time. At that time, the newborns leave the nest into the water and it is her mother who takes care of them for the first weeks of life, both giving them food, teaching them and taking care that other predators do not harm them.