Nile+Crocodile-Czajkowski

= NILE CROCODILE =

Classifications

KINGDOM: Anamalia PHYLUM: Chordata CLASS: Reptilia ORDER: Crocodylia FAMILY: Crocodylidae SUB-FAMILY: Crocodylinae GENUS: Crocodylus SPECIES: //Crocodylus Niloticus//

**__Movement:__** The Nile Crocodile can either walk on land using all four legs or swim in the water by using its powerful tail. Its tail allows it to swim in shallow waters and catch its prey.

__**Metabolism:**__ Nile crocodiles diet consists mainly of meat, making them carnivores. The Nile Crocodile will eat just about anything that comes in its way. Since they live in Africa, they eat zebras, wart hogs, antelope and occasionally people. More than 200 people every year will have been killed by a Nile Crocodile.

__**Getting Food:**__ The Nile Crocodile gets its food by using its massive jaws that can produce over 5000 pounds of power per square inch with its bite and tearing its prey's flesh. They also will do the death roll and that is when they will drown its prey and roll around at the same time.

__**Reproduction:**__ A male Nile Crocodile, also known as a bull, will guard its territory during breeding season by patrolling its waters and roaring. After mating, which occurs in the water, a female crocodile will dig a hole and lay around 50 eggs. Unlike other reptiles, the Nile Crocodile watches its eggs and protects them from hungry monitor lizards and birds. When it is time for the baby crocodiles to hatch, the mom will hear them make a squeak and she will dig them up out of the hole. For protection, the baby crocodiles get into their mom's mouth.

__**Growth and Development:**__ When crocodiles hatch, their skin is more of a darker color than when they're fully grown. A crocodile in its first ten years of their life will go through rapid growth and after the ten years their growth will slow down.

__**Adaptations:**__ The Nile crocodile has made many adaptations for them to survive in their harsh climate. Since Africa is such a hot place, the Nile Crocodile is ectothermic which means they can stay cool no matter the temperature. They also have a palatal flap which does not allow water to get in the mouth, but they use a special path that starts at the nostril and ends at the glottis that bypasses as a mouth. The Nile Crocodile jaw is a major tool when it comes to getting food. It needs its massive jaw to get the amount of food it needs.

**__Male Vs. Female:__** The major difference between males and females is that a male Nile Crocodile is 30% larger than a female. Males also grow much faster than females.

**__Family__:** The family Crocodylus is a large group. All crocodiles have four chambered hearts, a streamlined body, webbed feet, palatal flap and lateral scales. A few Crocodylus species include the Mugger Crocodile, New Guinea Crocodile, Morelets Crocodile and the one we all know, the American Crocodile.

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