American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

May 06, 2018 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures in Guyana

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The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from southern Florida and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far south as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives on many of the Caribbean islands such as Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Grand Cayman.
The habitat of the American crocodile consists largely of coastal areas. It is also found in river systems, but has a tendency to prefer, not merely to tolerate, some level of salinity, resulting in the species congregating in brackish lakes, mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and small islands. Other crocodiles also have tolerance to salt water due to salt glands underneath the tongue, but the American crocodile is the only species other than the saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) to commonly live and thrive in salt water.
The American is one of the larger crocodile species. Males can reach lengths of 6.1 m (20 ft), weighing up to 907 kg (2,000 lb). On average, mature males are more in the range of 4.1 m (13.5 ft) to 4.8 m (15.7 ft) in length weighing about 400 kg (880 lb). As with other crocodile species, females are smaller; rarely exceeding 3.8 m (12.5 ft) in length.

This species has a more V-shaped snout, compared to other large crocodiles, which usually have a slightly wider snout. Adults have a uniform greyish-green coloration with white or yellow undersides, while juveniles have dark cross-banding on the tail and back.
Despite their large size, American crocodiles do not regularly attack large animals, as most large crocodilians do. Fish, reptiles, birds and small mammals make up the majority of their diet. On occasion, large mammals such as deer and cattle are taken. Their dietary habits in coastal regions are not well studied. Like any other large crocodilian, the American crocodile is potentially dangerous to humans, though it tends not to be as aggressive as some other species.
Like all true crocodilians, the American crocodile is a quadruped, with four short, stocky legs, a long, powerful tail and a scaly hide with rows of ossified scutes running down its back and tail. Its snout is elongated and includes a strong pair of jaws. Its eyes have nictitating membranes for protection along with lacrimal glands, which produce tears.
The nostrils, eyes, and ears are situated on the top of its head, so the rest of the body can be concealed underwater for surprise attacks. Camouflage also helps it prey on food.
The snout is relatively longer and narrower than that of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), although broader on average than that of the Orinoco crocodile (C. intermedius).
American crocodiles are also paler and more greyish than the relatively dark-hued American alligator. This crocodile species normally crawls on its belly, but it can also “high walk”. Larger specimens can charge up to nearly 10 mph (16 km/h). They can swim at as much as 20 mph (32 km/h) by moving their bodies and tails in a sinuous fashion, but they cannot sustain this speed.
The American crocodile is sometimes confused with the smaller, Central American Morelet’s crocodile, a smaller species that is native to Mexico.
New hatchlings are about 27 cm (10.6 in) in length and about 60 g (2.1 oz) in mass. The average adult in the continental rivers can range from 2.9 to 4 m (9 ft 6 in to 13 ft 1 in) long and weigh up to 382 kg (842 lb) in males, while females can range from 2.5 to 3 m (8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in) and weigh up to 173 kg (381 lb), the lower total length representing their average size at sexual maturity, the upper representing the expected upper size limit for the respective sex in most known populations.
American crocodiles, unlike American alligators, are extremely susceptible to cold temperatures and live exclusively within tropical waters.
The American crocodile is saltwater-tolerant and has thus been capable of colonizing a multitude of islands within the Caribbean islands and on some coastal Pacific islands as well. They coexist with the rather smaller spectacled caiman within Central America. The only other crocodiles present within the American crocodile’s range are two species smaller than this species on average: the critically endangered Cuban crocodile, along with the Morelet’s crocodile in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
Due to hide hunting, pollution, loss of habitat, and removal of adults for commercial farming, the American crocodile is endangered in parts of its range. In 1972, Venezuela banned commercial crocodile skin harvesting for a decade, as a result of 1950s and 1960s overhunting.
One thousand to 2,000 American crocodiles live in Mexico and Central and South America, but populations are data deficient. The American crocodile is considered a vulnerable species, but has not been assessed since 1996. [Source: Wikipedia]

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