All 27 Species of Crocodilian (Inc 3 Recently Discovered)

[Music] there are several ways to distinguish an alligator from a crocodile and only one location on earth where their ranges overlap all crocodilians have long elongated bodies with powerful tails short limbs and armor-like scales known as scutes their skulls on the other hand vary in structure and provide the most interesting contrast between species the profile of the snout is the first noticeable difference alligators have wider more compact snouts whereas those of most crocodiles taper towards the nose this shape is even further accentuated in some species the position of the teeth when the jaw is closed is also a distinguishing feature in alligators and most caiman the teeth of the lower jaw fit into sockets in the upper jaw and are not visible when the mouth is closed in crocodiles some of these teeth sit in notches on the outside of the upper jaw and therefore are visible to a varying degree when the mouth is closed our journey into the world of crocodilian starts here in south florida the only location on earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist the american crocodile is one of the world's largest reptiles with a maximum weight of two thousand pounds and lengths of up to twenty feet there are estimated to be around five thousand individuals in the wild which is roughly the same as the number of server locations of today's sponsor nordvpn who you can check out using the link in the description i first started using a vpn upon returning home from a wonderful trip to canada i was horrified to find that homeland was not available where i live until i used a vpn i've since discovered that each country has many unique series and shows only available in that region or while using a vpn there are many other benefits including encrypting your banking information and other data you'd like to keep private nord's newest feature threat protection also guards against malicious websites malware intrusive ads and trackers making your online experience even safer if you need a vpn or any of these reasons appeal to you and you'd like to support the channel you can try nordvpn risk free for 30 days by heading to nordvpn.com forward slash textbook travel thank you to nordvpn for sponsoring this video although 5 000 american crocodiles might sound like a lot it is alarmingly low when compared to the estimated 1 million american alligators found in a smaller range as well as being found in freshwater ecosystems such as rivers american crocodiles have a high tolerance for salinity and are often found in coastal waters and brackish ecosystems such as estuaries and mangrove swamps crocodilians are referred to as cold blooded lacking the ability to regulate their own body temperature internally as such they can often be found sunbathing at the water's edge to warm up while on land they use a behavior known as mouth gaping which amongst other reasons is thought to further assist thermoregulation through evaporation once they are too hot they retreat back into the water to cool down american crocks can be distinguished by their lighter olive colored skin especially when it's dry the american alligator on the other hand is much darker and is also smaller in size measuring 10 to 15 feet in length and weighing up to a thousand pounds gators have a low tolerance for salt and are therefore not usually found in brackish waters preferring fresh water habitats such as lakes and rivers when on land these creatures often use a high walk lifting their bodies off the ground and dragging their tails american alligators are one of the most vocal species of crocodilian a study in the journal of experimental biology suggests they use deep bellows to communicate body size [Music] they breed once per year during the spring and lay a clutch of eggs in a nest which usually contains around 40 eggs hatchlings measure six to eight inches and will spend one to two years with their mother before reaching independence there are only two species of alligator both of which exist at the same latitude but on different sides of the world the chinese alligator is found in far eastern china in the lower yangtze river basin and quite frankly is adorable these miniature monsters are some of the smallest crocodilians averaging five feet in length and weighing no more than a hundred pounds like their american cousins they are dark in color and their young display yellow bands across their bodies living at such high latitudes for cold-blooded animals winter poses a problem for chinese alligators who create burrows and become dormant from late fall until early spring when they emerge to enjoy the sun they have dull teeth which helps crack the shells of mollusks such as snails as well as preying on fish invertebrates small mammals and aquatic birds this species is critically endangered with estimates ranging from just 70 to 300 remaining in the wild both species of alligator are part of the alligator ede family which also contains six species of cayman found in central and south america the world's smallest cayman cuvier's dwarf caiman also holds the title of the world's smallest crocodilian averaging four and a half feet in length and weighing just 13 to 15 pounds they have an interesting appearance with dark almost black backs and colorful reddish brown heads in many crocodilians including dwarf caymans the incubation temperature of the eggs has been shown to determine the sacks of hatchlings cooler temperatures produce more female young whereas warmer temperatures produce greater numbers of male hatchlings this is known as tsd temperature dependent sex determination which is also present in some turtle species dwarf caimans bask during the day and hunt at night preying upon fish small mammals frogs and a variety of invertebrates they are very similar in appearance to the smooth fronted caiman a species that gets its name from the lack of a ridge between the eyes that is present in some of the caimans we'll discuss next centered around the amazon and orinoco basins smooth fronted caimans have a very similar range to that of the cuvier's dwarf cayman although still small these caymans are slightly larger usually measuring no more than six feet and weighing up to 45 pounds clutch size is between 10 to 20 eggs which won't hatch for a hundred days interestingly nests are often built next to termite mounds which act as a source of heat hatchlings are very colorful and have a golden crown on the top of the head which fades as they grow their diet also changes with age hatchlings feast on small invertebrates progressing to small fish birds and other reptiles adults who are semi-terrestrial will also prey on larger mammals such as porcupines and packers a cool looking rodent from central in south america the spectacled caiman also known as the common caiman is named for the exact opposite reason to the smooth fronted caiman they exhibit a bony infra-orbital bridge between the eyes giving the appearance of spectacles on average they measure six and a half feet in length and weigh 90 pounds these cheery looking crocodilians are active mainly at night and spend most of the day basking in the sun with a quick dip around midday when the sun is at its highest in the sky spectacle caimans are generalist carnivores preying on a wide range of animals from insects and fish to birds and mammals thankfully their conservation status is least concerned with an estimated one million individuals in the wild another species of cayman that exhibits the bridge between its eyes is the broad snouted cayman which is easily distinguished by its exceptionally broad snout their range is quite different being found in southeastern south america in comparison to the spectacled cayman which is found further north they are also slightly larger usually measuring no more than eight feet but have been recorded up to eleven and a half feet like all crocodilians their eyes nose and ears which lie just behind the eyes are positioned on the very top of their head allowing them to see breathe and hear all whilst being almost completely submerged many individuals exhibit spots on the jaw a trait they share with a very similar caiman who can be distinguished by a narrower snout the yakare caiman also shares the ridge between the eyes and in some individuals but not all some of the lower teeth fit into holes in the upper jaw these animals use a cooperative feeding tactic called collective fishing that sees up to 15 individuals stretched across the width of a river to catch passing fish a large portion of their diet is also made up of snails and other invertebrates but like many other species will prey on a broad variety of animals crocodilians tend to be sexually dimorphic with male individuals being larger than females male yakurei caimans will grow to almost 10 feet in length and weigh no more than 130 pounds while females reach a maximum of six to eight feet they have a large population of between two to five million in a relatively small range in central south america which overlapped slightly with the range of the largest cayman species the black caiman interestingly while black caiman also have the ridge between their eyes they are from a separate monotypic genus to the spectacled broad snouted and yakuray caimans they also have spots on the lower jaw although as you would expect black caimans are darker in colour these giant creatures are not only the largest cayman but are one of the largest crocodilians with males reaching over 16 feet in length black cayman prey on larger mammals than other species including the capybara the world's largest rodent that can weigh up to 150 pounds in addition to the five species of cayman and the american crocodile there are two additional members of the crocodilidae family located in central in south america the largest of these species the orinoco crocodile is a similar size to the black caiman and american crocodile often reaching up to 16 feet in length but have been reported at well over 20 feet these animals are quite distinct in appearance with light olive skin decorated with black spots their long slender snouts are also a distinguishing feature and enable them to catch large amounts of aquatic prey primarily fish thanks to a reduction in water resistance orinoco crocodiles are critically endangered with some estimates suggesting there are less than 100 remaining in the wild they are found in the orinoco river basin which lies north of the amazon and 3000 kilometers south east of the next species that we'll discuss the more let's crocodile found in mexico belize and guatemala this species is known for its uncharacteristically blunt snout which is more similar to that of an alligator or cayman than it is to the rest of the crocodilidae family they are quite a bit smaller than the two species previously discussed with an average length of 10 feet and an average weight of just over 100 pounds all crocodilians have rows of raised scoots along their backs this shape is caused by bony deposits known as osteoderms that give the dorsal scoots their raised appearance osteoderms can be a range of shapes and are also present on the ventral side of the body the more let's crocodile lacks these ventral osteodomes producing a smoother belly than other crocodiles found due east in the caribbean the cuban crocodile is the last species we'll discuss in the americas it is critically endangered and has the smallest range of any crocodile found in just two swamps in cuba these animals are relatively small for crocodiles usually reaching no more than 10 and a half feet in length and weighing no more than 180 pounds the bony ridge that starts just the eye and above the ear and runs onto the back of the head is more accentuated in this species cuban crocs are quite colorful with black and yellow scales and have strong powerful tails which they use to launch themselves out of the water which looks terrifying to continue our journey we need to travel over 10 000 kilometers across the atlantic ocean to africa to visit the crocodilian with the strongest bite force of any animal on earth the nile crocodile although they are smaller than saltwater crocodiles at 5000 psi their bite force is considerably stronger they use this strength in combination with a technique called the death roll to tear flesh from carcasses of the large mammals they consume along with fish reptiles and birds life for nile crocodile starts in a clutch of 25 to 80 eggs which hatch after an incubation period of around 90 days hatchlings will stay with their mothers for up to two years while learning to navigate the complicated and treacherous african waters one of their most interesting behaviors is burrow digging individuals who live in the southernmost part of their range will spend the cooler part of their year inside of these burrows in a state of dormancy known as estivation while these animals are known to be some of the largest crocs in the world measuring up to 20 feet in length and weighing up to 2 400 pounds their size varies considerably throughout their range and actually averages out to just fifteen feet in length and five to nine hundred pounds in weight on the other end of the scale the dwarf crocodile is the world's smallest crocodile they usually measure around five feet and weigh between 40 to 70 pounds with the largest males weighing up to 180 pounds they have a short blunt snout similar to that of the dwarf cayman their young are quite colorful exhibiting spots along the jaw and onto their body some adults appear to retain these spots where others are almost entirely dark grey dwarf crocodiles live in streams small rivers and other aquatic ecosystems and are known to move between these environments on land they are found in both west and central africa where their range presumably overlaps with a much larger species the west african crocodile although it was first suggested as a separate species by etienne jeffor santeller in 1807 the west african crocodile was only confirmed as a separate species to the nile crocodile between 2011 and 2015 thanks to genetic testing as such they are very similar in appearance to the nile crocodile although tend to be smaller in size usually measuring five to eight feet in length the remaining species located in west and central africa the african slender scouted crocodile is also the last remaining species on the african continent and has also been subject to taxonomic debate they are characterized of course by their slender snouts and are medium in size usually measuring no more than 13 feet they mostly live in freshwater ecosystems where as well as preying on fish adults will lie and wait for mammals to drink at the water's edge in 2018 this species was determined in fact to be two separate species separated geographically by the cameroon volcanic line this chain of volcanoes is unusual as it includes both mainland volcanoes such as the active mount cameroon seamounts and islands such as sao tome and principe i digress individuals found to the west of this line are west african slender scouted crocodiles and those found to the east are central african slender snouted crocodiles but these slender snouts are not the most slender of crocodilian snouts found over 7 000 kilometers away in asia are two species with exceptionally narrow snouts the garil and fosgoril otherwise known as the thomas stoma are two of the most unique crocodilians they are both contained within the gavialidae family and are more closely related to crocodiles than they are to alligators or caiman garils have the most narrow snout profile of all crocodilian species and are also one of the largest with males reaching up to 20 feet in length they are known as the fish eating crocodile for their fish catching prowess and are known to be especially inefficient on land they display a yellowish white belly and are dark greenish brown on the dorsal side with scoots that are much less pronounced than many other species garriels live in rivers and can often be seen basking on the banks to warm up particularly in winter they are found in small isolated pockets in south asia and are critically endangered with less than one thousand remaining in the wild the closest relative to this species the false garil is found across the bay of bengal and has one of the most unique colorations of all the species we'll discuss the false garil also known as the malayan garil or thomastoma referencing the name of its genus has a similar narrow snout but is reddish brown with black cross bands and spots throughout the body and jaw they are smaller than gorillas with male individuals measuring up to 16 and a half feet and weighing no more than pounds they breed twice a year and clutches will usually contain 20 to 60 eggs similar to other crocodilians they are thought to live for up to 60 to 80 years and are currently listed as vulnerable with less than 10 000 remaining in the wild before we explore the crocodilians of oceania and southeast asia we need to travel back to india to pick up one straggler with a cheeky smile mugger crocodiles are more akin to regular crocodiles being part of the crocodile day family where we'll remain for the rest of this video its latin name palustris is commonly used in taxonomy and means swampy or marshy referencing some of the habitats where it abides although they are also found in rivers lakes and other freshwater ecosystems they are characterized by a broad snout which is unusual for crocodiles and is one of the most broad in this entire family they are medium sized roughly the same length as a thomas stoma with males measuring no more than around 16 feet although not pictured here perhaps their most interesting trait is their tool usage researchers collected evidence of mugger crocs using sticks balanced on their snouts during the breeding season of certain water birds in an attempt to lure those building nests to a snappy end the only other crocodile whose range overlaps with the mugger is the saltwater crocodile who with its high tolerance for salinity has a massive range which is fitting for its gigantic size and reputation saltwater crocs are the largest reptiles on earth measuring up to 23 feet in length and weighing up to a scary 2600 pounds all crocodilians have webbed feet especially their hind feet which they use to assist with swimming saltwater crocs are exceptionally good swimmers and live in a wide range of habitats including freshwater rivers brackish mangrove swamps and salty coastal waters even being spotted far out to sea they have the second largest bite force of any crocodilian and prey on a wide range of animals including water buffaloes wild boar and monkeys who they snatch from the water's edge they are affectionately referred to as salties in australia where one other species of crocodile can be found freshies or freshwater crocodiles are found only in northern australia and are another species with a slender snout they are found in various freshwater settings including swamps billabongs and rivers although they tend not to venture too far downstream due to a low tolerance for salinity and to avoid competition with the much larger salties they generally do not exceed 12 feet in length or 220 pounds in weight the average clutch size is smaller than many species previously discussed at around 13 to 20 eggs laid in the dry season between august and september hatchlings will pop out of their shell after 65 to 95 days before the wet season rains begin and food becomes plentiful heading northeast from australia's sunny shores lies the island of new guinea where the most recently discovered species exists the new guinea crocodile is a small to medium species rarely exceeding 11 and a half feet in length it was officially described as a species in 1928 since then scientists have analyzed live specimens and 51 skulls found on both sides of the central highlands which now shows that individuals to the south are in fact a separate species named hall's new guinea crocodile after the late philip hall a scientist at the university of florida who first proposed the species in the 1980s our journey concludes 2500 kilometers west of new guinea in southeast asia where definitely two and possibly three species reside the siamese crocodile is critically endangered with less than a thousand remaining in the wild like the cuban crocodile the bony ridge behind the eyes is much more prominent than other species they are medium in size measuring no more than 13 feet in length in the largest of cases they are found in slow-moving streams rivers and swamps where they prey primarily on fish but also amphibians and other reptiles there is one of the species that may also exist on the island of borneo the borneo crocodile whose range is unknown and about which there is little literature or photos it was first described in 1844 when it was found to be distinct from the saltwater crocodile on the basis of snout shape and the structure of the scales on the neck and then re-validated in 1990 as such some sources list the borneo crocodile as a separate species and others as a synonym of the saltwater crocodile the last crocodilian on our list is found due north on the islands of the philippine archipelago the philippine crocodile is another critically endangered species with just 100 individuals remaining in the wild at a maximum of 13 feet they are a similar size to the siamese crocodile when they are born hatchlings exhibit a golden brown color which darkens with age they have a broad snout and one of the cheeriest looking expressions of all crocodilian species it is subject to debate if they are more cheery than the quoka which you can judge for yourself by watching this video on marsupial species

Channel: Textbook Travel

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Keywords: textbook travel, textbook travel youtube, youtube textbook travel, educational, zoology, biogeography, nature, natural world, animals, animal kingdom, animals guide, species, animal species, reptiles, caiman, alligator vs crocodile, crocodile vs alligator, gharial, gharial crocodile, tomistoma, tomistoma crocodile, yacare caiman, crocodilian species, alligator sounds, crocodile species, crocodile species in the world, all crocodile species, rare crocodile species, new crocodile species

Id: ip-RhhMsyOw

Length: 23min 25sec (1405 seconds)

Published: Sat May 07 2022