Photograph by Gianfranco Lanzetti
Map
American Crocodile Range
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Reptile
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- Up to 70 years
- Size:
- Up to 15 ft (4.6 m)
- Weight:
- Up to 2,000 lbs (907 kg)
- Group name:
- Bask (on land) or float (in water)
- Protection status:
- Endangered
- Did you know?
- One of the largest known populations of American crocodiles is in the Dominican Republic's Lago Enriquillo, a landlocked, hypersaline lake located about 131 ft (40 m) below sea level.
- Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
The American crocodile is considered an endangered species in nearly all parts of its North, Central, and South American range. Survey data, except in the United States, is poor or nonexistent, but conservationists agree that illegal hunting and habitat depletion has reduced populations of this wide-ranging reptile to critical levels.
A small, remnant population lives in southern Florida, but most are found in southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Their habitat of choice is the fresh or brackish water of river estuaries, coastal lagoons, and mangrove swamps.
A prehistoric-looking creature, it is distinguishable from its cousin, the American alligator, by its longer, thinner snout, its lighter color, and two long teeth on the lower jaw that are visible when its mouth is closed.
This species is among the largest of the world's crocodiles, with Central and South American males reaching lengths of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). Males in the U.S. population rarely exceed 13 feet (4 meters), however.
Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, fish, crabs, insects, snails, frogs, and occasionally carrion. They have been known to attack people, but are far more likely to flee at the sight of humans.
Most countries in the American crocodile's range have passed protection laws, but unfortunately, few governments provide adequate enforcement.
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Animals
- Aardvark
- Adélie Penguin
- African Elephant
- African Lion
- African Wild Dog
- Albatross
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- Amazon Horned Frog
- American Alligator
- American Bison
- American Bullfrog
- American Crocodile
- Ammonite
- Andean Condor
- Anglerfish
- Ankylosaurus Magniventris
- Ant
- Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
- Arctic Fox
- Arctic Hare
- Arctic Skua
- Armadillo
- Asian Elephant
- Asian Lion
- Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
- Atlantic Puffin
- Aye-Aye
- Baboon
- Bactrian Camel
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Beaver
- Beluga Whale
- Bengal Tiger
- Bird of Paradise
- Black Bear
- Black-Footed Ferret
- Black Mamba
- Black Rhinoceros
- Blacktip Shark
- Black Widow Spider
- Bluebird
- Blue Crab
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Blue Jay
- Blue Marlin
- Blue Whale
- Boa Constrictor
- Bobcat
- Bottlenose Dolphin
- Box Jellyfish
- Brachychampsa Montana
- Brown Bear
- Bull Shark
- Burmese Python
- Butterflyfish
- California Condor
- California Sea Lion
- Canada Goose
- Cane Toad
- Canvasback
- Caribou
- Carolina Wren
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Chipmunk
- Cicada
- Clouded Leopard
- Clown Anemonefish
- Coelacanth
- Common Earthworm
- Common Loon
- Common Octopus
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Vampire Bat
- Common Wombat
- Coral
- Cottontail Rabbit
- Coyote
- Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
- Cuban Screech Owl
- Cubera Snapper
- Deer Tick
- Devil Frog
- Dingo
- Dog Snapper
- Dolichorhynchops Osborni
- Domestic Cat
- Domestic Dog
- Draco Lizard
- Dugong
- Eastern Coral Snake
- Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Eastern Gray Kangaroo
- Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
- Electric Eel
- Elephant Seal
- Elk
- Emperor Penguin
- Fennec Fox
- Firefly (Lightning Bug)
- Flying Fish
- Flying Snake
- Fossa
- Frilled Lizard
- Fur Seal
- Galápagos Tortoise
- Gelada
- Gentoo Penguin
- Geographic Cone Snail
- Giant Anteater
- Giant Clam
- Giant Pacific Octopus
- Giant Panda
- Giant River Otter
- Giant Squid
- Gibbon
- Gila Monster
- Giraffe
- Golden Cowrie
- Golden Eagle
- Golden Jellyfish
- Golden Lion Tamarin
- Golden Poison Dart Frog
- Gray Whale
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Greater Flamingo
- Greater Rhea
- Great Horned Owl
- Great White Shark
- Green Anaconda
- Green Basilisk Lizard
- Green-Eyed Tree Frog
- Green Iguana
- Green Sea Turtle
- Grizzly Bear
- Groundhog
- Hammerhead Shark
- Harbor Porpoise
- Harp Seal
- Hawaiian Monk Seal
- Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Hedgehog
- Henodus Chelyops
- Hesperornis Regalis
- Hippopotamus
- Honeybee
- Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
- Hornet
- Horse
- Howler Monkey
- Humpback Whale
- Impala
- Indian Rhinoceros
- Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
- Jackrabbit
- Jaguar
- Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
- Killer Whale (Orca)
- King Cobra
- King Vulture
- Kinkajou
- Koala
- Komodo Dragon
- Krill
- Ladybug
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
- Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Leopard
- Leopard Seal
- Leptoceratops Gracilis
- Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
- Lionfish
- Little Red Flying-Fox
- Llama
- Lobster
- Locust
- Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Lynx
- Macaw
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
- Mallard Duck
- Manatee
- Mandrill
- Marine Iguana
- Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
- Meerkat
- Meller's Chameleon
- Mexican Axolotl
- Mola (Sunfish)
- Mole Rat
- Monarch Butterfly
- Mongoose
- Mononykus Olecranus
- Moose
- Mosquito
- Mountain Goat
- Mountain Gorilla
- Mountain Lion
- Mouse Lemur
- Mudpuppy
- Musk-Ox
- Narwhal
- Nile Crocodile
- North American River Otter
- Northern Leopard Frog
- Nudibranch
- Nurse Shark
- Nutria
- Ocelot
- Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- Opossum
- Orangutan
- Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
- Osprey
- Ostrich
- Oyster
- Ozark Big-Eared Bat
- Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
- Parrot
- Parrot Fish
- Peacock
- Pelican
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Platecarpus
- Platypus
- Poison Dart Frog
- Polar Bear
- Porcupine
- Portuguese Man-of-War
- Prairie Dog
- Praying Mantis
- Proboscis Monkey
- Pronghorn
- Protosphyraena
- Protostega Gigas
- Przewalski's Horse
- Pufferfish
- Queen Angelfish
- Quetzal
- Raccoon
- Rainbow Trout
- Raven
- Red Crab
- Red-Eyed Tree Frog
- Red-Footed Booby
- Red Fox
- Red Kangaroo
- Red Leaf Monkey
- Red Panda
- Red-Tailed Hawk
- Red Uakari
- Rhesus Monkey
- Right Whale
- Ringed Seal
- Ring-Necked Pheasant
- Ring-Tailed Lemur
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
- Sailfish
- Saltwater Crocodile
- Sandhill Crane
- Sand Tiger Shark
- Scarab
- Scorpion
- Sea Anemone
- Sea Cucumber
- Seahorse
- Sea Otter
- Siberian Tiger
- Sifaka
- Skunk
- Sloth Bear
- Snow Goose
- Snow Leopard
- Snowshoe Hare
- Snowy Owl
- Sockeye Salmon
- Spectacled Bear
- Sperm Whale
- Spider Monkey
- Spotted Hyena
- Spotted Salamander
- Spring Peeper
- Squirrel
- Starfish (Sea Star)
- Steller Sea Lion
- Steller's Sea Eagle
- Stick Insect
- Stingray
- Styxosaurus Snowii
- Sumatran Rhinoceros
- Sun Bear
- Tapir
- Tarantula
- Tasmanian Devil
- Thescelosaurus Neglectus
- Thick-Billed Murre
- Thomson's Gazelle
- Three-Toed Sloth
- Tiger Salamander
- Tiger Shark
- Toucan
- Triceratops Horridus
- Triggerfish
- Troodon Formosus
- Tundra Swan
- Tusotheuthis Longa
- Two-Toed Sloth
- Tylosaurus Proriger
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Velociraptor Mongoliensis
- Wallaby
- Wallace's Flying Frog
- Walrus
- Warthog
- Warty Newt
- Wasp
- Water Buffalo
- Web-Footed Gecko
- Weddell Seal
- Western Lowland Gorilla
- Whale Shark
- White-Eared Kob
- White Rhinoceros
- White-Tailed Deer
- Whooping Crane
- Wildebeest
- Wild Turkey
- Wolf
- Wolverine
- Wood Stork
- Xiphactinus Audax
- Zebra
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