Crocodile facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Crocodiles Temporal range: Eocene – Recent
Nile Crocodile
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
(unranked):	Archosauria
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Crocodylidae Cuvier, 1807
Genera
Mecistops Crocodylus Osteolaemus

A crocodile is a large amphibious reptile. It lives mostly in large tropical rivers, where it is an ambush predator. One species, the Australian saltie, also travels in coastal salt water. In very dry climates, crocodiles may aestivate and sleep out the dry season.

Some scientists estimate that the modern type of crocodile appeared first in the Eocene period, while others believe its ancestors go much further back, to the Upper Triassic. The name "Crocodile" is also used for any member of the order Crocodilia. They are basically Archosaurs, a group which also includes the dinosaurs. There are many species of Crocodiles including the American, slender-snouted, and Orinoco crocodile.

The crocodile can snap its jaws shut quickly and with much power. But crocodiles have very little strength in opening their jaws, and a person could hold the jaws shut with their hands.

Crocodiles range in size from African Dwarf crocodiles that measure rarely over 5 feet to saltwater crocodiles that can approach 23 feet.

Distribution of crocodiles

Description

Crocodiles live in rivers, lakes, and dams in parts of America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Some of the crocodiles from Australia live in salt water. These saltwater crocodiles are normally bigger than the ones that live in fresh water. While crocodiles spend most of their time in the water, they can come out and move around on the land. Crocodiles cannot breathe underwater: they breathe air, just like people. They can hold their breath for a maximum of about two hours underwater. Some people feel threatened by crocodiles because they can be violent. However, some people find them fascinating.

What they look like

crocodilo-persa (crocodilo mugger)

Crocodiles' colors range from brown to grey or sometimes greenish-brownish. They have different shaped patterns covering them. They have sharp claws and teeth. Crocodile tongues are not free. They are held in place by a membrane that can not move. Crocodiles are unable to stick out their tongues.

Differences between crocodiles and alligators

Alligators and crocodiles are different in many ways. For example, in general:

• Crocodiles have salt glands, so they can live in saltwater habitats. Alligators usually live in freshwater habitats.
• Usually, crocodiles have longer and narrower snouts than alligators. Their snouts are shaped like a V; however, some crocodiles do have wide snouts. Most alligators have wide snouts that are shaped like a U.
• When its mouth is closed, you can see the fourth tooth on a crocodile's jaw. You cannot see that tooth when an alligator's mouth is closed.

Diet

Crocodiles mostly eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, reptiles, and mammals, and they occasionally cannibalize smaller crocodiles. What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age.

All young crocodiles hunt mostly invertebrates and small fish, gradually moving on to larger prey. Crocodiles have a very slow metabolism, so they can survive long periods without food. Despite their appearance of being slow, crocodiles have a very fast strike and are top predators in their environment, and various species have been observed attacking and killing other predators such as sharks and big cats. Crocodiles are also known to be aggressive scavengers who feed upon carrion and steal from other predators. Evidence suggests that crocodiles also feed upon fruits.

Defense

Crocodiles defend themselves using a combination of their incredibly tough bodies, powerful physical abilities, sharp senses, and smart behaviors like hiding and retreating into the water.

Scutes

Unlike many animals with soft skin, crocodiles have incredibly tough, leathery skin that is reinforced with bony plates called scutes (pronounced skootz). Scutes are like built-in armor. They are made of bone and are embedded within the skin, especially along the back and tail. Think of them like natural shields covering the most vulnerable parts of their body. It's very difficult for most predators to bite through a crocodile's armor. While the scutes make them tough, the skin between the scutes is more flexible, allowing the crocodile to move and twist its body. This combination of toughness and flexibility is a key part of their defense.

Bite

Crocodiles have incredibly strong muscles for closing their jaws. When they bite down, they can exert enormous force. This powerful bite is used to capture prey, but it can also be a devastating defense against an attacker. Their mouths are filled with sharp, cone-shaped teeth that are designed for gripping and holding onto things. While they don't chew their food much, these teeth are perfect for latching onto an attacker and causing serious injury. Interestingly, while the muscles for closing the jaw are super strong, the muscles for opening the jaw are relatively weak. This is why, in movies or documentaries, you might see someone holding a crocodile's mouth shut with just tape or rope – it's much harder for the crocodile to open its mouth than to keep it closed once it's shut.

Tail

A crocodile's tail is long, muscular, and incredibly strong. It's essential for swimming, but it's also a significant defense tool. In the water, the tail is used like a powerful paddle, propelling the crocodile through the water with speed and agility. This allows them to quickly escape danger by diving or swimming away. On land or in shallow water, a crocodile can use its tail like a whip. A powerful swing of the tail can knock over or seriously injure an attacker. The tail is heavy and moves with great force. The tail also helps the crocodile balance, especially when moving on land or lunging.

Camouflage

Crocodiles are masters of camouflage, and this is a passive but very effective form of defense.

Their skin color, which is usually dark green, brown, or gray, helps them blend in perfectly with the muddy or vegetated waters and riverbanks where they live. The bumpy, scaly texture of their skin also helps them look like logs or rocks when they are still.

By blending in, crocodiles can hide from potential threats without being seen. This allows them to avoid confrontation altogether, which is often the safest defense strategy. They can lie submerged with just their eyes and nostrils showing above the water, making them almost invisible.

Interesting facts about crocodiles

• Crocodiles replace their teeth up to 50 times in their lifetimes, as opposed to humans, who have one set of baby teeth and one set of adult teeth.
• Since crocodiles cannot sweat, they open their mouths to keep cool. This is called “mouth gaping.”
• The bite of a crocodile is nearly three times as strong as a lion or tiger. It is the strongest bite of any animal in the world.
• The crocodile spins its prey to disorient them and to help limbs separate from the bodies of larger animals.
• The human expression “crocodile tears” means to show insincere emotion. Crocodiles shed tears when their lachrymal gland pushes water out when they swallow too much air.
• Because crocodiles cannot chew, they swallow stones to help their stomach break down the food they eat.
• A crocodile’s stomach is the most acidic of any vertebrate. They can easily digest bones, hooves and horns.

Images for kids

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  Skulls and scutes of American, Nile and Saltwater crocodiles, with post-occipital scutes highlighted in red, nuchal shield in blue and dorsal scutes in green

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  Crocodiles, like dinosaurs, have the abdominal ribs modified into gastralia.

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  A saltwater crocodile in captivity

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  Crocodile eye

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  Nile crocodile attacking wildebeest

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  Human Crocodile Conflict

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  Even a cruising crocodile is difficult to locate

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  Nile crocodile trying to swallow a big Tilapia in Kruger National Park, South Africa

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  A crocodile, in a farm, gaping to thermoregulate

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  Captive crocodiles resting together with open jaws.

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  Crocodile eggs

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  Crocodile farming in Australia

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  Crocodiles in Costa Rica

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  American crocodile at La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico

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  A skull of the extinct Voay robustus

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  Crocodile warning sign, Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia

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  Famous 1876 editorial cartoon by Thomas Nast depicting Roman Catholic bishops in the US as crocodiles attacking public schools, with the connivance of Irish Catholic politicians

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  Crocodile leather wallets from a Bangkok crocodile farm

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  A plate of crocodile meat in teriyaki sauce in Helsinki, Finland.

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  Statue of Sobek from the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III c. 1810 BC. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

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  Brooklyn Museum – Plaque with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700–900.,33.448.12

See also

In Spanish: Cocodrilos para niños