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User:SkyGazer 512/List of crocodilians

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Clockwise from top-left: saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), and gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)

Crocodilia is an order of reptiles, containing the crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials, collectively referred to as crocodilians.[1] They have a solid build, with flattened snouts and laterally compressed tails.[2] They are good swimmers,[3] and unlike other reptiles, they are able to walk with their legs extended nearly vertically.[4]: 42–57  Their size ranges from 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in Cuvier's dwarf caiman[5] to up to nearly 7 metres (23 ft) in the saltwater crocodile.[6] They are primarily carnivores,[4]: 76–80  and with the exception of the two alligator species, they live in tropical habitats.[7]

Crocodilia is comprised of three families: Gavialidae, Alligatoridae, and Crocodylidae. The only extant species in Gavialidae are the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii).[8] The latter has historically been classified in the family Crocodylia, as the sole species in the subfamily Tomistominae. However, molecular evidence has shown that the subfamily is most closely related to the true gharial,[9][10] so as of 2012, Tomistoma is now classified in the family Gavialidae.[11] Alligatoridae is divided into two subfamilies, Alligatorinae and Caimaninae. The only living members in the former are the alligators,[12] comprising two species in a single genus.[13] The latter is the caiman subfamily,[12] containing six species in three genera.[14] The largest crocodilian family is Crocodylidae, which contains the true crocodiles. All of the extant species in this family are in the subfamily Crocodylinae, which is divided into three genera. Osteolaemus is monotypic, only containing the dwarf crocodile.[15] Mecistops is comprised of two species of African crocodiles, which were considered a single species until 2018.[16] The 12 other true crocodile species are in the genus Crocodylus.[17][18] In total, there are 25 living species of crocodilians.

Extant species

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This list displays, for every species, its common name, scientific name, range, IUCN Red List status, size, and an image.

Family Gavialidae

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Common name Scientific name Range IUCN Red List status Size Image
Genus Gavialis
Gharial (or gavial) Gavialis gangeticus Indian subcontinent[19] CR IUCN Length: 3.5–4.5 metres (11–15 ft)[20]
Weight: 160 kilograms (350 lb) (average)[21]
Genus Tomistoma
False gharial Tomistoma schlegelil VU IUCN Length: 4–5 metres (13–16 ft)[22]: 6 

Family Alligatoridae

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Family Alligatorinae

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Common name Scientific name Range IUCN Red List status Size Image
Genus Alligator

Family Caimaninae

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Common name Scientific name Range IUCN Red List status Size Image
Genus Caiman
Genus Melanosuchus
Genus Paleosuchus

Family Crocodylidae

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Common name Scientific name Range IUCN Red List status Size Image
Genus Crocodylus
Genus Osteolaemus
Genus Mecistops

References

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  1. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Crocodilia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. ^ Grigg, Gordon; Gans, Carl (1993). "Morphology and physiology of the Crocodylia". In Glasby, Christopher J.; Ross, Graham J. B.; Beesley, Pamela L. (eds.). Fauna of Australia. Volume 2A, Amphibia and Reptilia (PDF). Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-0-644-32429-8.
  3. ^ Lang, J. W. (2002). "Crocodilians". In Halliday, T.; Adler, K. (eds.). The Firefly Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books. pp. 212–221. ISBN 978-1-55297-613-5.
  4. ^ a b Ross, Charles A., ed. (1992). Crocodiles and Alligators. Blitz. ISBN 978-1-85391-092-0.
  5. ^ Britton, Adam. "Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Cuvier, 1807)". Crocodilians: Natural History and Conservation. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  6. ^ Britton, Adam; Whitaker, Nikhil; Whitaker, Romulus (December 2012). "Here be a dragon: exceptional size in a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) from the Philippines". Herpetological Review. 43 (4): 541–546. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  7. ^ Britton, Adam. "Distribution Maps". Crocodilians: Natural History and Conservation. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  8. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Gavialidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  9. ^ Gatesy, Jorge; Amato, G.; Norell, M.; DeSalle, R.; Hayashi, C. (2003). "Combined support for wholesale taxic atavism in gavialine crocodylians" (PDF). Systematic Biology. 52 (3): 403–422. doi:10.1080/10635150309329. PMID 12775528.
  10. ^ Willis, R. E.; McAliley, L. R.; Neeley, E. D.; Densmore Ld, L. D. (June 2007). "Evidence for placing the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) into the family Gavialidae: Inferences from nuclear gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 43 (3): 787–794. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.005. PMID 17433721.
  11. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Tomistoma". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  12. ^ a b Grzimek, Bernhard; Olendorf, Donna (2003). Schlager, Neil; Hutchins, Michael (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Reptiles (2, illustrated ed.). Gale. p. 171. ISBN 0787657832. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  13. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Alligator". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  14. ^ Brochu, C. A. (2011). "Phylogenetic relationships of Necrosuchus ionensis Simpson, 1937 and the early history of caimanines". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163: S228–S256. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00716.x.
  15. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Osteolaemus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  16. ^ Shirley, Matthew H.; Carr, Amanda N.; Nestler, Jennifer H.; Vliet, Kent A.; Brochu, Christopher A. (24 October 2018). "Systematic revision of the living African Slender-snouted Crocodiles (Mecistops Gray, 1844)". Zootaxa. 4504 (2): 151–193. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4504.2.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 30486023. S2CID 54146247.
  17. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Crocodylus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  18. ^ Schmitz, A.; Mausfeld, P.; Hekkala, E.; Shine, T.; Nickel, H.; Amato, G. & Böhme, W. (2003). "Molecular evidence for species level divergence in African Nile crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus (Laurenti, 1786)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 2 (8): 703–12. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2003.07.002.
  19. ^ Choudhury, B. C.; Singh, L. A. K.; Rao, R. J.; Basu, D.; Sharma, R. K.; Hussain, S. A.; Andrews, H. V.; Whitaker, N.; Whitaker, R.; Lenin, J.; Maskey, T.; Cadi, A.; Rashid, S.M.A.; Choudhury, A. A.; Dahal, B.; Win Ko Ko, U.; Thorbjarnarson, J.; Ross, J. P. (2007). "Gavialis gangeticus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007. IUCN: e.T8966A12939997. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T8966A12939997.en.
  20. ^ "Status and Conservation of Gharial in Nepal". Proceedings of the 12th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group. Thailand. 1994. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  21. ^ Manolis, S. C. and C. Stevenson (eds.), ed. (2010). "Gharial Gavialis gangeticus" (PDF). Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan (Third ed.). Darwin: Crocodile Specialist Group. pp. 139–143. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Grigg, Gordon (January 15, 2015). Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-1486300679. Retrieved 2 March 2019.