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What are the differences between a salt w

crocodile and a Nile crocodile?

David Kirshner, Crocodile biologist, zoological interpreter

Written 17h ago

If you’re after identifying features with which to distinguish them, there are
look for:

Neck scutes

The quickest and easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the scales on the
the neck. All living crocodiles have a cluster of four or more (usually six) larg
called nuchal scutes (a scute being an enlarged scale), on the back of their n
Almost all living crocodiles also have a row of (usually four) scutes right beh
head, between the back of the head and the nuchal scutes, called post-occip
scutes. The one and only exception among all of the living crocodiles is the
or estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, which lacks these scutes and has
scales there instead. This may sound like a pretty nitpicky tiny detail, but wi
experience one can recognise a saltwater crocodile in a photograph in well u
second by looking at the neck.

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