American crocodile
| American crocodile | ||||||||||||
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American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ) in Mexico |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Crocodylus acutus | ||||||||||||
| ( Cuvier , 1807) |
The American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ) is an American member of the real crocodile family .
features
The American crocodile reaches body lengths of seven meters, whereby the males are significantly larger than the females. As young animals, the crocodiles are gray to yellowish-brown in color and have darker transverse bands on their bodies. With age, the drawing fades in most specimens, which means that adult crocodiles are mostly uniformly olive to gray-brown. A noticeable elevation in front of the eyes as well as the back armor made of asymmetrical plates.
distribution
The distribution area of this species extends over a large part of Central America and the north of South America ( Venezuela and Colombia as well as Ecuador to northern Peru ). You can also find these crocodiles in the Caribbean islands of Cuba , Jamaica , the Cayman Islands , Hispaniola , Martinique , Trinidad and Isla Margarita as well as in Florida in the southern Everglades and on the Florida Keys . They usually live in freshwater near the coast , in the lower reaches of rivers and in lakes. The American crocodile is listed as vulnerable (endangered) in the Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation of Nature Union .
Way of life
The pointed crocodiles are pit bins that dig holes in sandy banks or sandbanks to lay eggs . If there are no sandy areas, they also bury the eggs in the vegetation or in gravel and marl areas . Plant remains are stacked on top of the eggs. Nests are probably used multiple times; In the case of American crocodiles in Florida, it has been observed that several females share a nest, while the crocodiles in Chiapas and Mexico have a strict territoriality . The mothers guard the nests until the young animals hatch and then carry them to the water. Nevertheless, the breeding is only successful in some regions of the distribution area, as the young dry out in saline areas.
Young animals mainly feed on insects and other small animals. With the increase in size, the size of the prey also increases, so that the food spectrum extends to fish , snakes , crustaceans , turtles , amphibians , birds and mammals .
American crocodile and human
The American crocodile is potentially dangerous to humans, but far less so than the saltwater crocodile or the Nile crocodile . The first known attack in Florida occurred in 2014 when a couple bathing at night was bitten and slightly injured. There are occasional deaths in Latin America. In 2015, for example, a seven-year-old was killed by a crocodile in Mexico.
literature
- Charles A. Ross (Ed.): Crocodiles and Alligators. Development, biology and dissemination . Orbis Verlag, Niedernhausen 2002, ISBN 978-3-572-01319-7 .
- Joachim Brock: Crocodiles - A life with armored lizards . Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-931587-11-6 .
Web links
- Crocodylus acutus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Crocodile Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on April 10 of 2009.
- Crocodylus acutus in The Reptile Database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter D'Oench: Gables Croc Attack, First Time In Florida. CBS, August 25, 2014, accessed January 3, 2019 .
- ↑ James Dunn: Horror as a seven-year-old boy is eaten alive by a crocodile in Mexico while his father looks on helplessly. Daily Mail, May 20, 2015, accessed January 3, 2019 .