--- title: "American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A salt-tolerant crocodile with a tapered snout, and the first crocodilian with evidence of reproducing without a male." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/american-crocodile-1.webp" published: "2026-10-12" updated: "2026-10-12" --- # American Crocodile (*Crocodylus acutus*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A salt-tolerant crocodile with a tapered snout, and the first crocodilian with evidence of reproducing without a male. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: 80s Pop & Dance Anthem // Madonna, "Like a Virgin" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/1ZPlNanZsJSPK5h9YZZFbZ) > **Vibe Match**: A female American crocodile kept away from other crocodilians for her entire life laid eggs, and one held a fetus whose DNA showed no contribution from a father: the first evidence of facultative parthenogenesis in a crocodilian. Madonna's Like a Virgin is a pop song about something happening for the very first time. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Crocodylus acutus* - **Danger Level**: Deadly - **Conservation Status**: Vulnerable ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-1.rlts.t5659a212805700.en)) - **Superpower**: Tolerates salt water - **Habitat**: Mostly brackish estuaries, creeks and mangrove swamps from southern Florida and the Greater Antilles through Mexico and Central and South America - **Diet**: Fish, crabs, birds, turtles, snakes and small mammals - **Tags**: reptile, wetlands, apex-predator, carnivore ## Natural History & Behavior ## Eggs with no father In 2018, keepers at a park in Costa Rica found 14 eggs in the enclosure of an 18-year-old female American crocodile, *Crocodylus acutus*. She was obtained at 2 years old and kept away from other crocodilians for her entire life. Seven of the eggs looked fertile. After three months of incubation the eggs had failed to hatch, and one held a fetus that could not have survived. Its DNA showed no contribution from a father. The scientists reported the first evidence of facultative parthenogenesis in a crocodilian. That unusual way of reproducing was already known in birds, lizards, snakes and elasmobranch fishes (sharks and rays). > **No sex chromosomes** > Unlike every vertebrate previously documented reproducing this way, crocodilians lack sex chromosomes. Temperature controls whether an egg becomes a male or a female. ## How big, how old Hatchlings are about 23 centimeters long. Adults may grow to 4.5 meters or larger, and Animal Diversity Web gives an average length of 3.5 meters. The AnAge ageing database lists an average adult weight of 76.7 kilograms. A male in captivity lived at least 47 years and could have been 65 or older. In a Florida capture study, the oldest crocodile recaptured was 22 years old. Early life is the dangerous part. In South Florida 25 percent of hatchlings survive their first year, but survival climbs to nearly 90 percent by age six. ## A coast dweller that handles salt Owing to its saltwater tolerance, the crocodile ranges from Florida, its northern limit, through the Greater Antilles, Mexico and Central America to northern South America. It also lives in freshwater rivers and lakes, but in Florida it is typically found in ponds, coves and creeks in mangrove swamps. One population lives in a hypersaline lake in the Dominican Republic. Salt still has a cost. In a Florida study, crocodiles exposed to hypersaline water (above 40 on the salinity scale) in the dry season grew 13 percent slower after one year. ## Jaws, stones and sunbathing Adults eat fish, crabs, birds, turtles, snakes and small mammals. Young crocodiles feed chiefly on aquatic invertebrates and small fish. A crocodile grabs prey in its powerful jaws and swallows it whole. It also swallows small stones, which help grind up its food. It often basks with its mouth open. Animal Diversity Web calls this gaping and says it helps regulate body temperature. The IUCN Red List rates the species Vulnerable. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How can you tell an American crocodile from an alligator? Look at the snout and the teeth. The crocodile has a slimmer build and a snout that tapers forward from the eyes, while the alligator's snout stays rounded at the tip. With the mouth shut, the crocodile's fourth tooth in the lower jaw still shows. The alligator's is hidden. *(Source: [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]())* ### How long does it take American crocodile eggs to hatch? Animal Diversity Web says a female lays 30 to 60 eggs in a hole or a mound, and they take about 9 to 10 weeks to hatch. The female guards the nest for that whole stretch. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ### How did Florida's crocodiles go from endangered to threatened? Florida's crocodiles were listed as endangered in 1975. In 2007 the US Fish and Wildlife Service moved them down to threatened, because the animals and their nests had become more widespread and more numerous. *(Source: [Moller, Cherkiss & Mazzotti]())* ## Sources 1. [Crocodylus acutus. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [AnAge entry for Crocodylus acutus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.]() 3. [American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.]() 4. [American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, June 2001.]() 5. [Moller, Cherkiss & Mazzotti. The American Crocodile: A Story of Recovery. The Croc Docs.]() 6. [Booth et al. (2023). Discovery of facultative parthenogenesis in a new world crocodile. Biology Letters.]() 7. [Briggs-Gonzalez et al. (2021). American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) as restoration bioindicators in the Florida Everglades. PLOS ONE.]() 8. [Rainwater et al. (2022). Crocodylus acutus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T5659A212805700.]() *Published October 12, 2026. 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