Siamese crocodile
| Siamese crocodile | ||||||||||||
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Siamese crocodile ( Crocodylus siamensis ) |
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| Crocodylus siamensis | ||||||||||||
| Schneider , 1801 |
The Siamese crocodile ( Crocodylus siamensis ) is a species of the real crocodiles (Crocodylidae). The species is threatened with extinction.
features
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The Siamese crocodile reaches a length of less than four meters. At first glance, the young animals in particular resemble the saltwater crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus ), but differ from it by the clearly pronounced enlarged neck shields. The Siamese crocodile has a much wider snout and several rows of cross-shields on the throat. While saltwater crocodiles prefer salt and brackish water areas, the Siamese crocodile can only be found in freshwater rivers, lakes and swamps. On crocodile farms in Thailand and Vietnam there was often intentional hybridization between the two aforementioned species, in this case the hybrids show characteristics of the estuarine crocodile and the Siamese crocodile. These hybrid crocodiles are capable of reproduction and are still being bred in very large numbers for the purpose of obtaining skins, especially in Thailand and the PRC.
distribution
The Siamese crocodile lives in fresh waters such as rivers, smaller lakes, and swamp areas. Its range is very limited and includes parts of the Southeast Asian mainland of Thailand , Laos , Vietnam , Cambodia and Malaya as well as some Indonesian islands. In the wild, however, it is very rare today due to hunting and habitat loss. Today only a few small populations in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, as well as an occurrence on Borneo, are known. The occurrences on Java and Vietnam are extinct, although there is a released population in the Cát Tiên National Park in Vietnam.
Way of life
Like most other crocodiles, the Siamese crocodile feeds on very different organisms in the water. Its spectrum probably includes insects , fish , other reptiles and amphibians , birds and small to medium-sized mammals , but details are not known.
During the breeding season, a mound nest is built from plant materials in which the eggs are laid. Such a nest contains 2 to 30 eggs in captivity; the nest size in the wild is unknown.
Danger
The IUCN lists this species as Critically Endangered (critically endangered). The total number of wild animals is unclear wi u but would recommend to less than 1,000 adult animals estimated with decreasing trend (as of 2012). This is due to the crocodile skin trade in the middle of the 20th century. Today the species is threatened by habitat loss and illegal egg gathering and hunting. The stocks in Cambodia are also threatened by the construction of hydropower plants , which are planned in most river systems with Siamese crocodile occurrences. Some of these construction projects have already started. Hybridization with hybrids that have escaped from crocodile farms harbors another danger. The survival of the species does not appear to be endangered in captivity, but hybrids with the estuarine crocodile seem to be preferred for breeding for the trade in crocodile skins. This is critical in that the survival of the species in crocodile farms depends on the value of the species for the trade in the hides.
literature
- Charles A. Ross (Ed.): Crocodiles and Alligators - Evolution, Biology and Distribution. Orbis Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002.
- Joachim Brock: Crocodiles - A life with armored lizards. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster 1998.
- L. Trutnau & R. Sommerlad: Crocodiles: Biology and husbandry. Chimaira publishing house, Frankfurt 2006.
- L. Trutnau & R. Sommerlad: Cocodilians -Their Biology and Captive Husbandry. Chimaira publishing house, Frankfurt 2006.
Web links
- Crocodylus siamensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Crocodile Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on 11 May, 2006.
- Crocodylus siamensis in The Reptile Database
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bezuijen, M., Simpson, B., Behler, N., Daltry, J. & Tempsiripong, Y .: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Siamese Crocodile. February 23, 2012, accessed April 9, 2020 .
- ↑ Crocodilian Species - Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis). Retrieved April 9, 2020 .