FAMILY:
ALLIGATORIDAE
A. mississippiensis
A. sinensis
C. crocodilus
C. c. apaporiensis
C. c. fuscus
C. latirostris
C. yacare
M. niger
P. palpebrosus
P. trigonatus
FAMILY:
CROCODYLIDAE
C. acutus
C. intermedius
C. johnstoni
C. mindorensis
C. moreletii
C. niloticus
C. novaeguineae
C. palustris
C. porosus
C. rhombifer
C. siamensis
M. cataphractus
O. tetraspis
T. schlegelii
FAMILY:
GAVIALIDAE
DICHOTOMOUS KEY
[German]
Adult freshwater crocodile lying with its characteristically narrow jaws agape. Compared with other members of the Crocodylidae family, the jaws are long and narrow, similar to C. cataphractus, although not as narrow as Tomistoma schlegelii or Gavialis gangeticus (family Gavialidae). Jaw design reveals a lot about the diet and specialised feeding behaviour of a particular species, and narrow-snouted crocodilians feed primarily upon fish, for which a narrow snout is suited. However, snout design does not necessarily restrict prey availabilty, and the freshwater crocodile can take a variety of different prey items.
Photograph courtesy of Dan Grange
