Crocs and babys

Female Nile crocs may put baby crocs in their mouth if there is danger nearby. Crocodile parents sometimes help their babies hatch by gently rolling the eggs in their mouth to crack the shells. Crocs have eyes high on their heads so that they can see above the surface of the water when they are submerged

Crocs are dangerous

Crocs are among the more biologically complex reptiles despite their prehistoric look. Unlike other reptiles, they have a cerebral cortex; a four-chambered heart; and the functional equivalent of a diaphragm, by incorporating muscles used for aquatic locomotion into respiration

Their external morphology on the other hand is a sign of their aquatic and predatory lifestyle. A crocs physical traits allow it to be a successful predator. They have a streamlined body that enables them to swim swiftly. Crocs also tuck their feet to their sides while swimming, which makes them faster by decreasing water resistance. They have webbed feet which, although not used to propel the animal through the water, allow it to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Webbed feet are an advantage in shallower water where the animals sometimes move around by walking.

Baby Crocs Speak from Within Egg

Scientists who study crocodiles have long noted the calls, perfectly audible to humans, emitted from Nile crocodile eggs soon before hatching. But until now, those calls had never been definitively deciphered by humans. New research indicates that the hatchlings' calls--which researchers say sound like "Umph! Umph!"--appear to alert their nest mates that it is time to hatch. Croc mothers, who bury their nests as soon as the eggs are laid, are also spurred into action by the sounds; the calls signal to the mother that she should begin digging up her young.

Crocs Definition

A crocodile or croc is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), or even the Crocodylomorpha which includes prehistoric crocodile relatives and ancestors. Crocs are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocs tend to congregate in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. They feed mostly on vertebrates like fish, reptiles, and mammals, sometimes on invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans, depending on species. They are an ancient lineage, and are believed to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. They are believed to be 200 million years old whereas dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago; crocodiles survived great extinction events.