Is the crocodile a dinosaur?
The crocodile is the terrestrial animal that has lived the longest on this earth. It has lived on earth for over 200 million years, and in the last 80 million years, there has not been much change in the evolution of the crocodile. Therefore, there have been many discussions about whether the crocodile is a dinosaur? It’s not.
Admittedly, the crocodile is an animal that lived while the dinosaurs lived for approx. 100 million to 65 million years ago. Back then, there was a species that was much larger than we know it today. One speaks of the existence of the so-called supercro that posed a threat to the dinosaurs. It was a sea warrior. The crocodile is not a dinosaur as it is physically different from the dinosaurs. A special feature of dinosaurs is that they can walk upright. The bones of the dinosaurs go vertically down from the body, enabling them to stand upright. However, it is not a trait the crocodile shares with the dinosaurs, which is why the crocodile is not a dinosaur.
Are crocodiles crying, crocodile tears?
It is an increasingly old and widely used term. It has a character of falsehood when people cry crocodile tears. The term itself is based on an ancient myth from the Middle Ages back in the 15th century about. The myth is based on crocodiles crying like children to lure people close enough to eat them.
However, research shows that crocodiles really cry. They are equipped with a tear duct just like the human and the sea turtle. This has been observed in i.a. the saltwater crocodile. It is believed that the crocodile cries to excrete sodium (salt) after eating its food in the water. Other researchers believe that it cries when it eats food – that a kind of liquid is discharged from the eye during its dinner.
Does the crocodile go to kindergarten?
Not all crocodiles are equally social, but crocodiles of the species Nile crocodile, have a completely unique form of breeding care to protect its young.
Once the eggs with the chicks have hatched, the mother transports all her chicks down to the river. The young crawl up the female’s back or nose to be transported down to the river to get into some kind of nursery. Here the other females help to protect their common offspring. From here it is possible for the mother to swim out for food and feed for the cubs while they are being cared for. After a month, the cubs have learned to fend for themselves by swimming, and finding insects they can eat. Thus, they no longer need to be in kindergarten. Only when the young are 7 years old are they big enough to no longer be in danger of being eaten by other predators.
Can crocodiles surf?
Yes, they can, and it’s something they do to a great extent.
Since crocodiles have not had the great development in the last millions of years, there has been great wonder at how crocodiles have spread. They are amazing swimmers at short distances, while long distances become too unbearable. The now deceased Steve Irwin and his research team have found out that crocodiles are super good for body surfing from island to island. Crocodiles are even waiting for the water conditions to be good enough for them to float with the current, and thus travel longer distances in the water. It was especially at distances over 10 km that the crocodiles began to utilize the flowing surface force of the tide to achieve longer distances in the water.
Herds
They are among the world’s most social reptiles in the world. The Nile crocodile, which you can experience when you travel to Sri Lanka , is one of the crocodile species that can be found hunting in droves. The males work to that extent to protect their territory from others. They patrol and protect their coastlines. If they have made a female pregnant, they help to take care of the eggs until they have hatched. A male can easily mate 20 times during his sexually mature life, and it certainly does not have to be with the same female. The female may also find a way to mate with other males to have more young.
Family
There are 14 very characteristic species of crocodiles, of which the Nile crocodile, the saltwater crocodile and the dwarf crocodile are the best known. It is very continental and country specific where the different species live. In addition to the different species of crocodiles, this one also has a highly comparable relationship to alligators, caimans and gavials, which are also a form of crocodiles. The crocodile is by natural definition a reptile, and therefore also partly related to animals such as snakes, lizards and frogs. One would thus think that reptiles are the crocodile’s closest relatives, but studies show that the crocodile is in fact more closely related to birds. The crocodile has also been given the status of being related to dinosaurs.
