American crocodile populations in Florida, Jamaica and Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic) differ in gene frequencies. Phylogenetic evidence supports Crocodylus diverging from its closest recent relative, the extinct Voay of Madagascar, around 25 million years ago, near the Oligocene/ Miocene boundary. The genus Crocodylus likely originated in Africa and radiated outwards towards Southeast Asia and the Americas, although an Australia/Asia origin has also been considered. The newly discovered animal may also represent the base of the evolutionary radiation of these animals, representing the missing link between crocodiles in Africa and the Americas. rhombifer) all share an ancestor hailing from Africa. However, the discovery of the Miocene species Crocodylus checchiai indicates that it, the Orinoco crocodile ( Crocodylus intermedius), Morelet's crocodile ( C. Until 2020, the evolution of the American crocodile was poorly understood. He was a monster for size-a perfect whale of a saurian, gray in color-and by all the powers, he was a genuine crocodile! Ĭrocodylus floridanus is now considered an invalid junior synonym of C. In a few hours, we got sight of him, out on the bank in a saw-grass wallow. Upon hearing of a "big old gator" in Arch Creek at the head of Biscayne Bay, Hornaday and his companions searched for it and reported: Jackson were sent to Florida to collect alligator hides. The species was redescribed as Crocodylus floridanus by William Temple Hornaday in 1875, when Hornaday and C. In 1822, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque postulated that the species was in fact a crocodile. The American crocodile was described by Georges Cuvier in 1807, and became known as the "sharp-snout alligator". Taxonomy and etymology An American crocodile photographed underwater in Cuba. American crocodiles coexist with the American alligator in Florida, and with the smaller spectacled caiman within Central America and South America. Like any other large crocodilian, the American crocodile is potentially dangerous to humans, but it tends not to be as aggressive as some other species. As with other crocodile species, females are smaller, rarely exceeding 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) in length even in the largest-bodied population. On average, mature males are more in the range of 2.9 to 4.1 m (9 ft 6 in to 13 ft 5 in) in length weighing up to about 400 kg (880 lb). Males can reach lengths of 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in), weighing up to 907 kg (2,000 lb). The American crocodile is one of the largest crocodile species. They are also found in hypersaline lakes one of the largest known populations inhabits Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. They can be found on beaches and small island formations without any freshwater source, such as many cays and islets across the Caribbean. Other crocodiles also have tolerance to saltwater due to salt glands underneath the tongue, but the American crocodile is the only species other than the saltwater crocodile to commonly live and thrive in saltwater. It is also found in river systems, but tends to prefer salinity, resulting in the species congregating in brackish lakes, mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and small islands. The habitat of the American crocodile consists largely of coastal areas. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru and Venezuela. The American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus) is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics.
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