New Guinea Crocodile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Crocodylus novaeguineae |
||||||||||||||
 |
The New Guinea Crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae) is a small species of crocodile found on the island of New Guinea.
[edit] Description
Crocodylus novaeguineae grows to a length of up to 3.5 m for the males and 2.7 m for the females. It bears a physical similarity to the nearby Australian Freshwater Crocodile (C. johnsoni) and Siamese Crocodile (C. siamensis). The snout is pointed and relatively narrow. The body is grey-brown in colour, with dark brown to black markings on the tail.
The Philippine Crocodile (C. mindorensis) was once held to be a subspecies (C. novaeguineae mindorensis), but is now considered by most sources as a separate species.
[edit] Habitat
The primarily nocturnal crocodile is to be found in the freshwater swamps and lakes of New Guinea, particular in the interior. Although tolerant of saltwater, it is rarely to be found in brackish coastal waters, and never in the presence of the competing Saltwater Crocodile (C. porosus). Two populations are known on the island, separated by a mountain range; genetic analysis has revealed that these are genetically separate populations.
[edit] References
- New Guinea Crocodile. Crocodilians. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
 |
This reptile article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
