Hipporex's Slightly-Inaccurate Photographic Guide to Crocodilia

Crocodylus mindorensis
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm from Mindoro" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + Mindoro (an island in the Philippines) + ensis (Latin for "belonging to")
  • Common Name(s): Philippine Crocodile, Mindoro crocodile, Philippine freshwater crocodile
  • Species Authority: Karl Patterson Schmidt, 1935
  • Distribution: Asia (Endemic to the Philippines)
  • Length: 3.1 meters (10 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Critically Endangered
  • Fun Fact: Until 1989, it was considered a subspecies of the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae).
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Philippine crocodile at the Avilon Zoo in the Philippines (photo by @Nick@Amsterdam)
 
Crocodylus moreletii
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Morelet's pebble worm" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + moreletii (honoring French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet who discovered this species in Mexico in 1850)
  • Common Name(s): Morelet's crocodile, Mexican crocodile
  • Species Authority: Auguste Duméril and Gabriel Bibron, 1851
  • Distribution: North America (Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico)
  • Length: 3 meters (9.8 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Lower Risk - Least Concern (LC)
  • Fun Fact: It was long confused with the American and Cuban because of similar characteristics and an ambiguous type locality. It was not generally accepted as a separate species until the 1920s.
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Morelet's crocodile at Zoo Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain (photo by @Maguari)
 
This is a beautiful thread and I love the format you're using and the way you're organizing the information. I'm glad you started including the institutions in the photo descriptions though, as some of the first few made me wonder a bit.
 
This next one is a lesser known species and I'm guessing most of you haven't heard of it...


Crocodylus niloticus
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm from the Nile River" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + niloticus (means "of the Nile")
  • Common Name(s): Nile crocodile
  • Species Authority: Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti, 1768
  • Distribution: Most of the African contient, even Madagascar
  • Length: 3.5 and 5 meters (11.5 and 16.4 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Lower Risk - Least Concern (LC)
  • Fun Fact: Nile crocodiles are relatively social crocodiles. They share basking spots and large food sources, such as schools of fish and big carcasses. Their strict hierarchy is determined by size. Large, old males are at the top of this hierarchy and have primary access to food and the best basking spots. Crocodiles tend to respect this order; when it is infringed, the results are often violent and sometimes fatal.
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Nile crocodile at Hamat Gader Crocodile Farm in Israel (photo by @alexkant).
 
Crocodylus novaeguineae
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm from New Guinea" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + novaeguineae (Latin for "of New Guinea")
  • Common Name(s): New Guinea crocodile
  • Species Authority: Karl Patterson Schmidt, 1928
  • Distribution: Endemic to the freshwater swamps, marshes and lakes of New Guinea, particularly in the interior
  • Length (Males): maximum of 3.5 meters (11.48 feet)
  • Length (Females): maximum of 2.7 meters (8.86 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Lower Risk - Least Concern (LC)
  • Fun Fact: New Guinea crocodiles have a mostly aquatic lifestyle and are largely nocturnal. They spend much of the day underwater, often with their nostrils and eyes above the surface.
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New Guinea crocodile at Berlin Zoo Aquarium in Berlin, Germany (photo by @Maguari)
 
It's time for the crocodile most likely rob you...

Crocodylus palustris
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm from the swamp" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + palustris (Latin for "swampy")
  • Common Name(s): Mugger crocodile, mugger, marsh crocodile, and broad-snouted crocodile
  • Species Authority: René Primevère Lesson, 1831
  • Distribution: Asia (from southern Iran and Pakistan to India and Sri Lanka; it is extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar)
  • Length (Males): 3 to 3.5 meters (9 feet 10 inches to 11 feet 6 inches)
  • Length (Females): 2 to 2.5 meters (6 feet 7 inches to 8 feet 2 inches)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Vulnerable
  • Fun Fact: Mugger crocodiles have been documented using lures to hunt birds. This means they are among the first non-avian sauropsids recorded to use tools. By balancing sticks and branches on their heads, they lure birds that are looking for nesting material. This strategy is particularly effective during the nesting season.
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Muggers at the Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens in England (photo by @gulogulogulo).
 
If bigger is better than get ready for the best crocodile out there...

Crocodylus porosus
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm full of callosities" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + porosis (Greek for "callosity") + osus (Latin for "full of")
  • Common Name(s): Saltwater crocodile, estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile, saltie, croc
  • Species Authority: Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, 1801
  • Distribution: Asia and Oceania (C. porosus has the broadest distribution of any modern crocodile, ranging from the eastern coast of India throughout most of Southeast Asia and northern Australia; historically, the range covered Southern China as well)
  • Length (Males): 3.5 to 6 meters (11 feet 6 inches to 19 feet 8 inches)
  • Length (Females): 2.7 to 3.1 meters (8 feet 10 inches to 10 feet 2 inches)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Lower Risk - Least Concern (LC)
  • Fun Fact: The saltwater crocodile can, believe it or not, live in saltwater.
  • Fun Fact #2: The saltwater crocodile is the largest living sauropsid.
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A saltwater crocodile at the Fort Worth Zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. (photo by @Ding Lingwei)
 
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Just a quick note, I’ve never called a Freshwater Crocodile or a Saltwater Crocodile a ‘freshie’ or a ‘saltie’.:p
I am not sure about other Australians, but these terms aren’t that common. The term ‘croc’ is more commonly heard, to broadly indentify a crocodile.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Just a quick note, I’ve never called a Freshwater Crocodile or a Saltwater Crocodile a ‘freshie’ or a ‘saltie’.:p
I am not sure about other Australians, but these terms aren’t that common. The term ‘croc’ is more commonly heard, to broadly indentify a crocodile.
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Okay thanks for letting me know. I've watched a lot of documentaries narrated by Australian people and they usually call them those terms so I guess I just assumed that was the "norm." Also for the record I wasn't trying to make fun of Australians, in fact I love Australia and my dream is to visit someday
 
Hipporex said:
Okay thanks for letting me know. I've watched a lot of documentaries narrated by Australian people and they usually call them those terms so I guess I just assumed that was the "norm." Also for the record I wasn't trying to make fun of Australians, in fact I love Australia and my dream is to visit someday
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I didn’t find it offensive,:) it was just something to note. It might be commonplace just unfamiliar to me.;)
Hope you can visit Australia- it’s a wonderful place with lots of incredible animals.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Just a quick note, I’ve never called a Freshwater Crocodile or a Saltwater Crocodile a ‘freshie’ or a ‘saltie’.:p
I am not sure about other Australians, but these terms aren’t that common. The term ‘croc’ is more commonly heard, to broadly indentify a crocodile.
Click to expand...

I agree the general public call them all crocs, and wouldn't know a Salty from a Freshy, but those two terms are widely used in the herping fraternity.

:p

Hix
 
Every American remembers the dreadful 13-day Cuban Crocodile Crisis of October 1962...

Crocodylus rhombifer
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm bearing rhomboids" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos(Greek for "worm") + rhombifer (means "bearing rhomboids," for the shape of the flank scales)
  • Common Name(s): Cuban crocodile
  • Species Authority: Georges Curvier, 1807
  • Distribution: North America (endemic to Cuba's Zapata Swamp and the Isle of Youth)
  • Length: 2.1 to 2.3 meters (6.9 to 7.5 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Critically Endangered
  • Fun Fact: The Cuban crocodile, while not a particularly large species, is often regarded as the most aggressive New World crocodile and is behaviorally dominant over the larger American crocodile in areas where the two species coexist. Data regarding attacks on humans are limited, but occurrences are likely rare given the species' very small distribution area and separation from human populations. Despite its reported aggression, there is only a single known fatal human attack by this species: An elderly man who was attacked and killed in 1995 while spearfishing in the Zapata Swamp. Captive specimens show aggression towards their keepers, a behavior displayed at Gatorland (a wildlife preserve in Florida).
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Cuban crocodile at Paignton Zoo in Paignton, England (photo by @gentle lemur)
 
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Crocodylus siamensis
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm from Siam" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + siam (referring to the country of Siam, which is now called Thailand) + ensis (Latin for "belonging to")
  • Common Name(s): Siamese crocodile, Siamese freshwater crocodile
  • Species Authority: Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, 1801
  • Former Distribution: Asia (Indonesia (the islands of Borneo and possibly Java), Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Burma, and Cambodia)
  • Current Distribution: Asia (Indonesia (the island of Borneo), Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam)
  • Length: average of 3 meters (10 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Critically Endangered
  • Fun Fact: Pure, unhybridized examples of this species are generally unaggressive towards humans, and there are only four confirmed attacks, none of them fatal. One was defending its young, another was probably defending itself, one was provoked, and the reason for the last is unclear. A fifth attack, in 1928, was fatal, but the victim was a child (i.e., closer to typical prey size than an adult) and the identity of the crocodile species is not entirely certain.
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Two Siamese crocodiles at the Pattaya Crocodile Farm in Siam (A.K.A. Thailand). (photo by @alexkant)
 
Crocodylus suchus
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Pebble worm crocodile" = kroko (Greek for "pebble") + deilos (Greek for "worm") + soukhos (Greek for "crocodile")
  • Common Name(s): Desert crocodile, West African crocodile
  • Species Authority: Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1807
  • Distribution: Africa (West and Central Africa)
  • Length: 1.5 to 2.5 meters (5 to 8 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Fun Fact: The people of Ancient Egypt worshiped Sobek, a crocodile-god associated with fertility, protection, and the power of the pharaoh. They had an ambivalent relationship with Sobek, as they did (and do) with C. suchus; sometimes they hunted crocodiles and reviled Sobek, and sometimes they saw him as a protector and source of pharaonic power. C. suchus was known to be more docile than the Nile crocodile and was chosen by the Ancient Egyptians for spiritual rites, including mummification.
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Desert crocodile at the Philadelphia Zoo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (photo by @ThylacineAlive)
 
Mecistops cataphractus
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: Mecistops comes from the Greek mēkist, meaning "longest," and the Greek ópsis, meaning "aspect" or "appearance" / cataphractus comes from the Greek katáphraktos, meaning "armored" or "shielded"
  • Common Name(s): West African slender-snouted crocodile
  • Species Authority: Georges Curvier, 1825
  • Distribution: Western Africa (what a surprise)
  • Length: average of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) / maximum of 4.2 meters (14 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Critically Endangered
  • Fun Fact: A study in 2015 that included 24 captive slender-snouted crocodiles in six U.S. zoos (more than 50% of the slender-snouted crocodiles in AZA zoos) found that all were of West African origin, indicating that captive breeding may be important for conservation of this species.
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West African slender-snouted crocodile in Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. (photo by @Great Argus)
 
Mecistops leptorhynchus
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: Mecistops comes from the Greek mēkist, meaning "longest," and the Greek ópsis, meaning "aspect" or "appearance" / leptorhynchus comes from the Greek leptós, meaning "slender," and rhýnchos, meaning "snout"
  • Common Name(s): Central African slender-snouted crocodile
  • Species Authority: Edward Turner Bennett, 1835
  • Distribution: Central Africa (what a surprise)
  • Length: average of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) / maximum of 4.2 meters (14 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Not Evaluated (NE), but likely will be "Threatened - Critically Endangered (CR)"
  • Fun Fact: Even though Mr. Bennett believed this species to be valid, it was widely thought to simply be a population of the Mecistops cataphractus but was elevated to a species after two detailed studies, one in 2014 and the other in 2018.
There are no known photos of the Central African slender-snouted crocodile of Zoochat. Thus I'm cheating and using a Wikipedia photo:
1920px-Mecistops_leptorhynchus_2009.jpg

(photo by User:Leyo - Wikimedia Commons)
 
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If you like confusing taxonomy, this be your croc...

Osteolaemus tetraspis
  • Meaning of Scientific Name: "Bony throat with four shields" = osteon (Greek for "bone") + laimos (Greek for "throat") + tetra (Greek for "four") + aspis (Greek for "shield")
  • Common Name(s): African dwarf crocodile, Broad-snouted crocodile, Black crocodile, African caiman, Bony crocodile, African broad-nosed crocodile
  • Species Authority: Edward Drinker Cope, 1861
  • Distribution: Africa (Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo)
  • Length: 1.5 meters (4.9 feet)
  • IUCN Conservation Status: Threatened - Vulnerable (VU)
  • Fun Fact: The dwarf crocodile is a timid and mainly nocturnal reptile that spends the day hidden in pools or burrows, although it occasionally may be active during the day. Foraging is mainly done in or near the water, although it is considered to be one of the most terrestrial species of crocodilian and may expand the feeding pattern to land in extensive forays, especially after rains.
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Dwarf crocodile at San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California, U.S.A. (photo by @ThylacineAlive)
 
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