CrocodilianBiologyDatabase

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FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONS
EVOLUTION

What'sthedifferencebetweenacrocodileandanalligator?
Crocodilesandalligators
twocreaturesthatshare
manysimilarities.Butwhat
aretherealdifferences
betweenthem?Thisis
probablythemost
frequentlyaskedquestion
whenitcomesto
crocodilians,andwhilethe
answermayappear
straightforwardthereal
truthslieinthedetails.

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FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS

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AMERICAN
ALLIGATOR

SIAMESE
CROCODILE

1.Differentfamilies:Therearethreegroupsfamilies
ofcrocodilians:thealligatoridae,whichincludesthe
alligatorandthecaimansthecrocodylidae,which
includesthe"true"crocodilesandthegavialidae,which
containsonlythegharial.So,thefirstdifferenceisthat
alligatorsandcrocodilesareactuallyindifferent
families.
2.Shapeofthejaw:Theeasiestwayoftellingapart
crocodilesfromalligators,however,istolookattheir
noses.Alligatorsandcaimanshaveawide"U"
shaped,roundedsnoutlikeashovel,whereas
crocodilestendtohavelongerandmorepointed"V"
shapednoses.Thisisillustratedinthediagramtothe
leftC=alligator,D=crocodile.Thebroadsnoutof
alligatorsisdesignedforstrength,capableofwithstandingthestresscausedtobone
whenmassiveforceisappliedtocrackopenturtlesandhardshelledinvertebrates
whichformpartoftheirdiet.Ofcourse,alligatorseatsofterpreytoo,buthardshelled
preyareubiquitousintheirenvironmentandit'sabigadvantagetobeabletoeatthem.
Conversely,thepointedsnoutofacrocodileisn'tquiteasstrongasthealligatorine
shape,butthecrocodileisstillcapableofexertingmassivebitingpower.Crocodilejaws
canbethoughtofasbeingmoregeneralisedidealforawidevarietyofprey.Thefull
extentofthewayjawshapeinfluencesdietisn'tparticularlywellstudiedincrocodilians,
butit'sobviousthataverythinnoselikeagharial'sismuchbetteratdealingwithafish
thanaturtle!Thereare23speciesofcrocodilians,though,andthissimplebroadvs.
narrowruledoesn'talwayswork.
3.Placementofteeth:Inalligators,theupperjaw
iswiderthanthelowerjawandcompletely
overlapsit.Therefore,theteethinthelowerjaw
arealmostcompletelyhiddenwhenthemouth
closes,fittingneatlyintosmalldepressionsor

socketsintheupperjaw.Thisisparticularly
apparentwiththelargefourthtoothinthelowerjaw
see[A]indiagramonright.Incrocodiles,the
upperjawandlowerjawareapproximatelythe
samewidth,andsoteethinthelowerjawfitalong
themarginoftheupperjawwhenthemouthis
closed.Therefore,theupperteethinterlockand
"interdigitate"withthelowerteethwhenthemouth
shuts.Asthelargefourthtoothinthelowerjaw
alsofitsoutsidetheupperjaw,thereisawell
definedconstrictionintheupperjawbehindthe
nostrilstoaccommodateitwhenthemouthis
closedsee[B]indiagramonright.This
constrictionoccursattheboundaryofthe
premaxillaandthemaxillaintheupperjaw.
4.Lingualsaltglands:Crocodilesandgharialsalsodiffer
fromalligatorsandcaimansinhavingfunctioningsaltglands
ontheirtongue.Structurally,theseareactuallymodified
salivaryglands,andwhilealligatorsandcaimansalsohave
thesestructurestheyappeartohavelosttheabilitytouse
themforexcretingsignificantamountsofsalt.Thismakes
crocodilesmoretoleranttolifeinsalinewater,includingsea
waterinsomespecies.Moreover,itsuggeststhatcrocodiles
haveamorerecentmarineancestry:theabilitytomigrate
acrosswidemarinebodies,andevenlivethereforextended
periods,wouldcertainlyexplaintheircurrentwidedistribution
acrossdifferentcontinents.Ifancestralspeciescouldliveinmarineenvironments,this
abilityhasnotbeencompletelylostinmoderncrocodiles.Speciessuchassaltwater
crocodilesC.porosuscansurviveforextendedperiodsintidalestuaries,aroundthe
coast,andevenouttosea.Alligatorsandcaimanshavelostmuchofthisosmotic
abilitytosecreteexcesssaltthroughthetongueglands,andcanonlytolerateitfor
shortperiodsoftime,preferingtoremaininfreshwaterareaswhenpossible.However,
itisnotunknownforlargealligatorstofindtheirwayintotidalmangrovesandvery
rarelyintocoastalareas.
5.Integumentarysenseorgans:Bothcrocodilesandalligators
havesmall,sensorypitsdottedaroundtheupperandlowerjaws
takeacloselookonaphotograph,andyou'llseesmall,black
specklesalmostlikeunshavenstubble.Thesearecapableof
detectingsmallpressurechangesinwater,andassistinlocating
andcapturingprey.ThesewereoriginallycalledISOs,or
IntegumentarySenseOrgans,althoughrecentresearchhas
renamedthemDPRsDermalPressureReceptors.Crocodileshavesimilarorgans
coveringvirtuallyeveryscaleontheirbody,butalligatorsandcaimansonlyhavethose
aroundthejaws.Althoughit'sbeenknownforyearsthatsenseorgansonthejawsare
involvedinpressuredetection,nobodyisquitesurewhatthoseorganscoveringthe
restofthebodyincrocodilesactuallydo.Theyprobablyextendthesensorysurface
overthecrocodile'sentirebody,butpreviousresearchershavesuggestedtheymay
assistinchemicalreception,orevensalinitydetection.Theconfusionliesoverwhy
crocodileshavethem,butnotalligatorsandcaimans.Regardlessoftheirrole,they're
verygoodattellingapartcrocodileskinfromalligatorskin.Crocodileandalligatorskin
wallets,handbags,bootsetcareeasytotellapartifthescaleshaveasmallspotor
dimpleclosetotheedge,youknowtheskinisfromacrocodileandnotanalligatoror
caiman.Thisisillustratedbelowthealligatorontheleftdoesnothaveanysense
organs,butthecrocodileontherightdoes.

GULARREGION(NECK)
OFAMERICAN
ALLIGATOR

GULARREGION(NECK)
OFAMERICAN
CROCODILE

Otherdifferences:Theabovepointsareamongstthemostobviousdifferences
betweencrocodilesandalligatorsintermsofexternalappearance.However,each
speciesisunique,andtolistallthepossibledifferenceswouldbelikecomparinga
jaguarwithalion.Differencesinbehaviourarealsoapparent.Mostpeopleregard
crocodilesasmoreaggressivethanalligators,andthisistrueofsomespecies.For
example,alligatorsarerelativelydocilenexttosaltwatercrocodiles,buttherearemany
specieswithmanydiffererentkindsofbehavioursandtemperaments.Ageneralrule
thatcrocodilesaremoreaggressivethanalligatorsjustisn'tpossibletomake.
Alligatorscanoftenreachatleast14or15feetinlength,whichislargerthansome
crocodilespecies,butnotothers.Thelargestcrocodilespeciesisthesaltwater
crocodile,whichcangettoatleast17or18feetsomerareindividualsexceeding20
feetaftermanyyears.TheAfricandwarfcrocodile,asacontrast,doesn'tgrowlarger
than4or5feet.
Thetwoimagesbelowshowanexceptiontothe"jawshape"rule.TheIndianmugger
Crocodyluspalustrisbreaksthecrocodileconventionofhavingnarrowjawsitsjaws
aresuperficiallyverysimilarinshapetothoseofanalligator,althoughthefourthlower
toothisstillvisible.Whenalltheabovecriteriaareconsidered,themuggerisdefinitely
acrocodile.Alwaysbearthedetailsinmindwhenfacedwithgeneralquestionslike
what'sthedifferencebetweencrocodilesandalligators.Asyoucanhopefullysee,the
simpleanswerisnotalwaysthemostinteresting!

AMERICANALLIGATOR

INDIANMUGGER

Doyouhaveaquestionaboutcrocodiles?Ifso,dropmea
lineandI'llanswerit.

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DesignandcontentbyAdamBritton19952012Allrightsreserved.[email]