Crocodilians: Misconceptions vs. Reality

When we hear “Crocodilian” we think tough skin, fast runner, ‘Crocodile or Alligator?’, and many other stereotypes taught to us in movies, media, and fashion. I’m going to debunk the 7 most commonly believed myths and misconceptions about Crocodilians

1. They can run incredibly fast on land.

We’ve always been told that crocodiles can outrun us in a straight line and that we should run in a zig zag pattern to slow them down. The reality is that crocodiles can only reach speeds up to 12 mph on land, and only sprint for short distances of approximately 20-25 meters at a time. To put it in perspective for you, the average human can jog around 11-12 mph. One could easily outrun an crocodile by simply jogging away.

2. Crocodilians are lizards.

When people mention lizards we envision bearded dragons, geckos, and of course, crocodiles. This is a common misconception, after all, they do look like giant lizards. Crocodilians are actually the other lineage of living archosaurs. One lineage traces back to bride and dinosaurs, the other to crocodilians. Crocodilians have more in common with a bird than they do with a lizard, which is an entirely separate order not related to them. Mind blowing, I know.

3. Crocodiles and Alligators are essentially the same thing.

Crocodiles and Alligators might look very similar to one another, but their last common ancestor was approximately 65 million years ago. They are cousins, 65 million years removed. The reason Alligators and Crocodiles look so alike is because their body plan is actually a great plan, and it works. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

4. They’re not very intelligent.

Many people think that Crocodilians have “tiny lizard brains” but that’s just not true. Researchers at the American Museum of Natural History discovered that their brains are actually very complex. They discovered that they have very complex social systems and they can even be trained, much like a dog. During a study to understand crocodile training they discovered that the crocodiles would come to a clicker and get the reward that was offered. Much like using a clicker to teach a dog to sit and rewarding it for doing so. Fascinating!

5. They eat their children.

It’s a common misconception that crocodilian parents are horrible parents that eat their young. This was conceived upon observing crocodiles dig up egg nests and take the eggs in their mouths. It was later discovered that the female would respond to the cries of her young when they were ready to hatch. She’d then dig up the nest and transport the eggs to the water via her mouth. So no, they don’t actually eat their kids in some sort of occult reptilian ritual.

6. Their skin is incredibly tough.

Crocodile skin purses, crocodile skin boots, and of course, their armor like look makes us believe the have super hard skin. But in reality their skin is actually very soft, and sensitive. They have boney plates underneath their skin in certain areas but their skin overall isn’t much different than that of a humans. Sounds weird, right? I thought so too.

7. There are only crocodiles and alligators.

It’s common belief that there are only crocodiles and alligators, but I’m about to debunk that right here, right now. Crocodiles and alligators are under the order “crocodilian” (Crocodilia for you biology buffs). The reality is that crocodiles fall under the true crocodiles (Crocodylidae), alligators and caimens (Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (Gavialidae). I’ll get more into each one and what makes each one unique from the others in another post.

Those are the 7 most common misconception about crocodilians and what they are in reality. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and if you want to learn more about crocodilians head on over to my profile and hit that follow button!

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