User:SkyGazer 512/List of crocodilians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.