Crocodile species all have similar biting force

[DavidBrown]

Interesting article on the biomechanics of crocodile jaws. It seems that all of the 23 living species have the same bite force, regardless of jaw shape.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/s...-dainty-crocodile-snouts-pack-same-chomp.html

 

[nanoboy]

Interesting article on the biomechanics of crocodile jaws. It seems that all of the 23 living species have the same bite force, regardless of jaw shape.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/s...-dainty-crocodile-snouts-pack-same-chomp.html

Here is the actual journal paper: PLoS ONE: Insights into the Ecology and Evolutionary Success of Crocodilians Revealed through Bite-Force and Tooth-Pressure Experimentation

The article is a bit misleading, and incorrectly uses some terms like 'force' and 'strength'.

So to add to David's comment, "all of the 23 living species have the same bite force, regardless of jaw shape" for similar sized taxa. Indeed, as the paper points out in one example, Cuvier's Dwarf Croc had the smallest bite force and a saltie had the largest. They used the term "pound for pound", so I gather that 100kg crocs of any species would have similar bite forces. They didn't come out and say it explicitly, but it suggests that the maximum bite force of a croc, divided by the croc's weight, is a constant, irrespective of specie.