10 most dangerous crocodiles. The world's largest crocodile
These reptiles have been Mesozoic era chosen aquatic environment. Some of them reached colossal sizes. They were able to hunt even dinosaurs and large mammals. Are you curious who is the record holder among them?
So, the most big crocodiles in the history of our planet:
For now we are highlighting seven positions, but we will gradually increase their number. In this case, the rating will be updated periodically.
Note that the competition among crocodiles is very tight. Moreover, there are no obvious advantages among representatives of any particular family. It is quite possible that the largest crocodile in the world has not yet been found. It is also worth noting that most participants are found in Africa and South America.
Graphic comparison of several giants with a man and a saltwater crocodile (the largest modern look Crocodylus porosus).
As you can see, today the Mesozoic Sarcosuchus, which lived side by side with dinosaurs, is in the lead by a small margin. In addition to its long skull, the largest crocodile had impressive defenses (more details in its profile).
Comparison of Sarcosuchus with the largest land mammal our days, African elephant.
Despite the fact that all giants were predators, the average diet could differ quite greatly. Some, such as the griposuchus, were real masters in catching fish and other water inhabitants. Others, such as Purussaurus and Deinosuchus, often hunted large land animals. Still others, such as Sarcosuchus, occupied an intermediate position.
Deinosuchus, Purussaurus and Sarcosuchus, placed in one body of water by Spanish artist Alvaro Rosalen.
It's not surprising that people are afraid of crocodiles. These predatory reptiles have been living on our Earth for the last 83.5 million years. In addition, crocodiles can be classified as the worst cannibals in the world. Crocodiles living in the Nile are responsible for large quantity deaths than any other predator that attacks people.
Due to the danger these predators pose, as well as their many years of stories, we decided to present to your attention a rating of the largest crocodiles that live on our Earth in this moment time.
The largest crocodile in the world
African narrow-snouted crocodile
An adult African narrow-snouted crocodile is about 3.3 meters long and weighs about 200 kg. These reptiles have exclusively sharp teeth, as well as a tendency towards aggression towards people and that is why some African tribes They try to avoid rivers. In general, the main diet of these crocodiles consists of fish, snakes and amphibians.
Gharial crocodile
The gharial crocodile grows on average up to 4 meters, and their weight is up to 210 kg. Female crocodiles are usually much larger fewer males; But in 2008, in Kalimantan, a female gharial crocodile was killed and eaten and, remarkably, the length of the predator was more than 4 meters.
Swamp crocodile
On average, marsh crocodiles grow up to 3.3 meters and weigh about 225 kg. These predatory reptiles prefer to hunt from ambushes. They hide for a long time muddy water and wait for prey, then, choosing the right moment, attack it and drag it under water. Next, the crocodile can only wait until the victim suffocates in the water. People also know of cases where swamp crocodiles hunted on the ground, near hidden forest paths.
Mississippi alligator
Mississippi alligators, on average, are about 3.4 meters long and weigh 240 kilograms. People have repeatedly managed to see giants whose length reached 5.3 m.
These reptiles have one of the most strong bites in the animal world - its approximate force is 9452 Newtons. But what makes Mississippi alligators vulnerable is that they are very weak muscles to open the jaw.
Gangetic gharial
Ghanaian gharials average 4.5 meters in length, with some specimens reaching 6.25 meters, making them one of the longest crocodiles in the world. But with such a huge length, these reptiles weigh only up to 250 kg. They are also one of the most endangered crocodile species - in wildlife There are about 235 individuals left living in the wild.
Sharp-snouted American crocodile
This is the fifth representative of our list of the largest crocodiles in the world. Sharp-snouted American crocodiles are about 4 meters long and weigh an average of 335 kg. These predatory reptiles can move at speeds of about 10 miles per hour on land and 20 miles per hour in water. This is one of the most dangerous opportunity crocodiles when attacking a person.
Black caiman
The average length of a black caiman is about 3.9 meters and its weight is 350 kg. Black caimans often hunt dangerous mining, such as piranhas and anacondas. There are not too many references in the world to the attacks of these crocodiles on people, but nevertheless they still remain one of the most dangerous.
Orinoco crocodile
The Orino crocodile is an endangered reptile species that can only be found in Colombia and Venezuela. On average, adult individuals grow up to 4.1 meters in length and weigh 380 kg, but there are individuals that weigh more and are longer. In the 20th century, they were actively hunted.
Nile crocodile
The Nile crocodile is the second largest species of crocodile in the world. Their length reaches about 4.2 meters, and their average weight– 410 kg. Nile crocodiles are aggressive and opportunistic predators. Every year, about 275-745 attacks on people are recorded annually, and 63% of which were fatal.
Where do the largest crocodiles in the world live? Since these terrible reptiles are excellent swimmers in the open sea and love to travel, they can be found on the coasts of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, eastern India, Australia, central regions Vietnam and Japan.
The world's largest crocodile - (Crocodylus porosus). It is also called lumpy, spongy or sea, because external features- its muzzle has two ridges or is covered with tubercles. The length of males is from 6 to 7 meters. Maximum length saltwater crocodile was recorded more than 100 years ago in India. The killed crocodile reached 9.9 meters! The weight of adult individuals is from 400 to 1000 kg. Habitat - Southeast Asia, in the Philippines, Solomon Islands.
Saltwater crocodiles feed on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans, however large individuals are not so harmless and attack buffalos, wild pigs, antelopes, and monkeys. They often lie in wait for prey at a watering hole, grab the muzzle with their jaws and knock them down with a blow from their tail. The jaws are clenched with such force that they can crush the skull of a large buffalo. The victim is dragged into the water, where he can no longer actively resist. They attack people very often.
A female saltwater crocodile lays up to 90 eggs. She builds a nest out of leaves and dirt. Rotting foliage creates damp, warm atmosphere, the temperature in the nest reaches 32 degrees. The sex of future crocodiles depends on temperature. If the temperature is up to 31.6 degrees, then males will be born, if higher - females. This species of crocodiles has a large commercial value, so he was mercilessly exterminated.
(Crocodylus niloticus) is the second largest after the saltwater crocodile. It lives along the banks of lakes, rivers, and in freshwater swamps in sub-Saharan Africa. Adult males reach 5 m in length, weighing up to 500 kg, females are 30% smaller in size.
Crocodiles reach sexual maturity at 10 years of age. IN mating season males slap their muzzles on the water, snort, roar, and try to attract the attention of females. The life expectancy of the Nile crocodile is 45 years. And although the crocodile’s main food is fish and small vertebrates, it can hunt any large animal and is also dangerous for humans. A crocodile was caught in Uganda, which kept local residents in fear for 20 years and claimed 83 human lives.
The most large crocodile is considered and Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), inhabitant South America. Its length can reach 6 m. It feeds mainly on fish. There have been cases of attacks on humans. In the hot season, when the water level in reservoirs drops, crocodiles dig holes on the banks of rivers. Today this one is very rare view can be found in lakes and rivers of Colombia and Venezuela. The population has been severely exterminated by humans; there are about 1,500 individuals in nature.
Among the most large reptiles also include sharp-snouted American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), 5-6 meters long. Habitat: South America. Eats fish small mammals, can attack livestock. It rarely attacks a person, only if it poses a threat to the crocodile or offspring. Adults adapt well to salt water and swim far out to sea.
Another representative of the largest crocodiles in the world, 4-5 meters long - marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris, Indian)- the habitat of Hindustan. Settles in small bodies of water standing water, most often in swamps, rivers and lakes. This animal feels confident on land and can move long distances. It feeds mainly on fish and reptiles, and can attack large ungulates on the shore of a reservoir. It attacks people very rarely. The marsh crocodile itself can become prey for a tiger, a saltwater crocodile
Crocodiles are huge and ruthless predators. There are some individuals among them that reach sizes of 5-7 meters. But even despite such impressive dimensions, they are still significantly inferior to their ancient relatives who lived in the era of Dinosaurs - at a time when animals walked on land and swam in water gigantic size. Relatives of crocodiles reached a length of about 12 meters. Although real crocodiles have not become as huge as their ancestors, they can still be considered one of the largest animals living today on planet Earth.
Crocodiles are distributed all over the world, but being cold-blooded, they live only in the tropics. These reptiles only eat animal food, which is independently obtained by attacking a victim from the water. They are even capable of running onto land, which they sometimes do, developing speeds of up to 15 m/s over a short distance. They can live for more than 100 years and the oldest individuals reach the largest body dimensions.
Among all types of crocodiles, the most large sizes reach the following: 1) combed; 2) Nile; 3) alligator; 4) gharial.
1. The saltwater crocodile is the king of crocodiles
The largest crocodile in the world that was caught belongs specifically to the combed species. At one time in the Philippines they caught giant crocodile this species, weighing more than a ton and reaching a length of 6.4 meters. The record holder was left alive (although it was he who was suspected of the death of livestock and the death of some people) and was sent to the zoo so that he would attract more tourists to it.
The previous record was set in the 2000s - then a crocodile was caught in the same area, whose body length was 5.84 meters. The estimated age of the reptile is more than 50 years. To local residents I had to catch the predator because it was killing livestock and people.
In general, as scientists say, saltwater crocodiles can weigh up to 2 tons and have a body length of up to 10 meters. So set record- this is not the limit for this reptile.
The combed species is also called marine, since such crocodiles can live not only in fresh water(although they prefer it and reproduce in it), but they can also swim along salty seas. That's why they got it wide use around the world. They simply sailed the seas and explored new territories. Saltwater crocodiles feel great, both in coastal waters, and on the coasts of Malaysia, Kalimantan and Australia. And everywhere they get their food, eating fish, reptiles, turtles, crabs, snakes, monitor lizards, pigs, buffaloes, antelopes, dogs, kangaroos, sharks and even people. They hunt most often at dusk, when it is almost impossible to notice this crocodile. The strength of the jaws of this predator is so great that it can easily crush the skull of a large animal. It lies in wait for its future victim at a watering hole and when it comes very close, it instantly attacks it, captures it and drags it into the water, where it will become even more difficult to resist.
This reptile is capable of swimming several thousand kilometers across the World Ocean and can be found in any, even the most unexpected places. There is evidence that saltwater crocodiles have been observed in west coast South America. And this is very far from Australia and Borneo.
Female saltwater crocodiles are much smaller than males: their body length is often less than 3 meters (rarely exceeds this figure), and they weigh up to half a ton. The name “crested” was given to this reptile because it has two ridges in the eye area. These reptiles' external color changes - their color is directly dependent on age. Young predators have a light yellow color; spots and hairs can be seen on the surface of the body. Older individuals have a slightly darker color. The color of the belly differs from the general color of the crocodile - it has light shade, usually white or yellow.
Since the skin of the saltwater crocodile is highly valued on the market, over the past 70 years, the number of this predator has decreased significantly. Even in some countries this type reptiles were completely exterminated. The largest number of salted crocodiles preserved is in Australia - there are at least 100 thousand of them there.
By size Nile crocodile inferior to the comb species, but not very significantly. On average it reaches 4-5 meters in length, rarely up to 5.5 meters and weighs over 500 kg.
IN last time The largest Nile crocodile was caught in 1905 - its length was 6 meters 45 centimeters and it weighed 1090 kg. Since then, no one has seen such huge crocodiles of this species.
The Nile crocodile lives in freshwater swamps and lives along the banks of lakes and rivers, sometimes it is seen in brackish water, in mangroves or river mouths. It can be found almost throughout continental Africa south of the desert Sahara, as well as in Principe, Sao Tome, Mauritius, Morocco, Zanzibar, Cape Verde, the Nile Basin, Socotra Island and Madagascar.
In 1940-1960, this species of crocodiles was actively hunted. The purpose of hunting is to obtain high-quality animal skin rather than its meat. All this led to a significant decrease in the number of Nile crocodile.
Another type of crocodiles that reach large sizes are alligators. The largest alligator caught weighed more than a ton and was 5.8 meters long. He was caught in Louisiana on Marsh Island.
Alligators live in two countries: the USA and China. It is noteworthy that in China it can now only be found in the Yangtze River valley, since in this country it is endangered. But in the United States, this species of crocodiles has spread very widely - more than 1 million individuals live in Florida alone.
Distinctive features of an alligator from other crocodiles: a wider, blunt-shaped muzzle (in other crocodiles it is usually sharp), eyes are located in the upper part of the body, the upper jaw covers all the lower teeth (in other crocodiles, when the jaw is closed, the large 4th tooth of the lower jaw is visible).
In appearance, an alligator most often has dark color, almost black, but this color also depends on the colors prevailing in the surrounding water. If there is a lot of algae in the water, then the alligator's skin may be green. If there is a lot of tannic acid in the water (it is formed due to overhanging trees), then the skin color becomes darker.
It’s not for nothing that alligators are so common in the United States. They are specially bred to earn money from selling their skin and meat - this is a large market that is growing year by year
It's pretty interesting view crocodiles, which is slightly smaller in size than combed and Nile crocodiles. The length of its body reaches 5 meters. Distinctive feature is a long and narrow muzzle, which is specially adapted for catching fish, which is what gharials primarily feed on.
Gharials live on the Hindustan Peninsula, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Nepal and India. They prefer to live in fresh water bodies, and choose the most deep places. They are very poorly adapted to walking on the ground, since their leg muscles are almost undeveloped. Their main activity is swimming. Gharials still sometimes come to land - they do this for sunbathing and breeding.
Sarcosuchus is an extinct species of giant crocodiles that lived on the planet in the early Cretaceous period. According to research, he lived in Africa and ate herbivores and fish. For a long time, no one knew about Sarcosuchus until Albert-Felix de Lapparent (French paleontologist) discovered several scutes and armor teeth of an ancient animal in the Sahara in the mid-20th century. Later, at the end of the 20th century, another scientist was able to simultaneously discover 6 skeletons of Sarcosuchus. Thanks to the skeletons, it was possible to understand that it was one of the most large species crocodiles that ever lived on Earth. The length of its skull was approximately 180 cm, its mass was 8 tons, and it reached a length of 12 meters.
By the way, parts of the body of this giant crocodile can be found in one of the museums in Paris.
These are the largest crocodiles that people have encountered in the world.