Mugger crocodile
species of reptile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is also known as the marsh crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile and mugger.
Mugger crocodile | |
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Subfamily: | Crocodylinae |
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Crocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831 | |
Distribution of Crocodylus palustris |
It lives in the Indian subcontinent and nearby countries. In Pakistan's coastal regions of the Makran and delta marshlands of Sindh, it is known as the Indus crocodile. The name "Mugger" is a corruption of the Hindi word magar which means "water monster". It is one of three crocodilians in India, the others are the saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) and gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).[1]
Mugger crocodile hatchlings are pale olive with black spots. Adults are dark olive to grey or brown. The head is rough without any ridges.
The mugger crocodile is a medium-sized crocodilian.[2] It has a strong tail and webbed feet. It has good sense of smell, sight and hearing. Adult female muggers are 2 to 2.5 m (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 2 in) on average. Adult male muggers are 3 to 3.5 m (9 ft 10 in to 11 ft 6 in). They rarely grow up to 5 m (16 ft 5 in). The largest known muggers measured 5.63 m (18 ft 6 in).