Philippine crocodile
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| Philippine Crocodile | ||||||||||||||
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| Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 |
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 Range of the Philippine crocodile in blue
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The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is a crocodile found only in the Philippines.[1] It is also known as the Mindoro crocodile and the Philippine freshwater crocodile. In the Philippines, it is strictly prohibited to kill a crocodile, but its status is critically endangered from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods,[2] such as dynamite fishing.[3] Conservation methods are being taken by the Dutch/Filipino Mabuwaya foundation,[4] the Crocodile Conservation Society and the Zoological Institute of HerpaWorld in Mindoro.
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[edit] Anatomy
The Philippine crocodile is a relatively small freshwater crocodilian endemic to the Philippines. Philippine crocodiles are relatively small, growing no more than 3 meters. Females are slightly smaller than males. Philippine crocodiles are golden-brown in color, while it grows darker as it matures.
[edit] Distribution
The Philippine crocodile is only found on the islands of the Philippines. This species of crocodile is one of the most severely threatened species around. There are probably less than 100 non-hatchling Philippine crocodiles surviving in the wild.
[edit] Ecology and life history
The Philippine crocodile is a relatively small, freshwater crocodile. Until very recently it was considered a subspecies of the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguinae).[5] It was historically found in Luzon, parts of Visayas and Mindanao until the numbers were drastically cut by, mainly, Habitat destruction.[4]
This crocodile was featured in National Geographic's Dangerous Encounters hosted by crocodile specialist Dr. Brady Barr. In one of the episodes, Barr was seeking to be the first person to see all species of crocodile in the world, with the Philippine crocodile as the most difficult. Fortunately, he was able to see a Philippine crocodile only about two weeks old. [6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] References
- ^ Only in the Philippines - Endemic Animals in the Philippines txtmania.com.Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ Crocodilian Species - Philippine Crocodile (Crocdylus mindorensis) flmnh.ufl.edu.Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ BPM_05one_Philipines_text.pdf (Application/pdf Object) bp.com. Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ a b Philippine Crocodile Comeback cepf.net.Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ Species Accounts:cmind.htm flmnh.ufl.edu.Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ National Geographic Channel Videos - Adventure Shows, Natural History & More channel.nationalgeographic.com.Accessed October 22, 2007.
