Common Name: American Crocodile
Scientific Name: Crocodylus Acutus
Distribution: Mainly in Florida. It is also found in the Gulf of Mexico and as far south as the Caribbean sea. It lives in salt water swamps and sometimes will swim out to the sea.
Description: The American Crocodile will grow to be as long as 23 feet (7 m). However, it usually will only grow to be 12 feet (3 1/2 m) long. It is a little smaller and has a narrower snout than it's cousin the American Alligator. It is also closely related the the Cuban Crocodile.
Dinner Time: American Crocodiles will eat fish, turtles, crabs, lobsters, birds, and anything else it can get a hold of. They do not attack people, however. (Unless provoked)
Reproduction: When breeding season arrives the males tries to impress the female by splashing water around with its tail and snout. The egg has to be fertilized before it is covered with a thick leathery shell. The eggs are laid in rotting vegetation. The heat from the rotting vegetation keeps the eggs warm. Sometimes they will lay them in sand.
General: The Cuban Crocodile is also endangered of becoming extinct. Younger crocodilles have been known to swallow rocks because they are top heavy.
