Unable to beat a goose, yet still eating "snail noodles", is the Yangtze alligator really the "shame of crocodiles"?

When it comes to China's unique national treasures, in addition to the giant panda, golden monkey, Yangtze finless porpoise and Chinese sturgeon, the most famous is the Yangtze alligator (Alligator sinensis).

Unlike the image of crocodiles with bloody mouths, sharp teeth, and ferocious horror, these short and small crocodiles not only look kind, but are also docile and even shy. They will not attack humans, but can get along well with local residents who are washing clothes and dishes by the river, and are sometimes easily scared away by humans. The Yangtze alligator has therefore become the "shame of crocodiles."

But are alligators really that weak? The crocodiles we see in documentaries are all fierce, so are their fighting abilities similar to those of alligators?

Alligators who love to eat snail noodles

The Yangtze alligator is one of the smallest crocodiles in existence, generally only 1.5 meters long and weighing about 36 kg. It is also the only crocodile that hibernates.

The Chinese alligator belongs to the second largest family of the Crocodile order, the Alligatoridae. As the name suggests, most Alligatoridae crocodiles have short and wide snouts, which are U-shaped when viewed from above. This family is not weak in combat power. Most Alligators have large and sharp front teeth that can be used for fixing and tearing (the front teeth of the caiman genus are particularly exaggerated, and the mandibular teeth of some individuals can even penetrate the upper jaw), while the back teeth are smaller and blunt, which are used to crush hard objects. Moreover, in terms of diet, these crocodiles will not refuse any prey that they can capture, dismember and swallow.

The blunt snout and short teeth of the Chinese alligator | Berthold Werner / wikimedia

However, the Chinese alligator and the South American caiman (Caiman latirostris) are two outliers in the Alligatoridae family: their snouts are shorter and wider, their skulls are higher, and they lack sharp canine-like teeth in their mouths, but have more and more developed blunt teeth used for crushing.

The broad-snouted caiman has a silly face | Joachim S. Müller / Flickr

These two small and medium-sized crocodiles, which look a bit "simple", mainly feed on freshwater snails. The Broad-nosed Caiman likes to prey on bottle snails from South America (the notorious invasive species Pomacea canaliculata and its relatives), and also eats small side-necked turtles; while the Yangtze Alligator prefers its hometown "snail rice noodle", mainly eating round field snails commonly found in the Yangtze River Basin, and also preys on harder stone field snails and river clams.

In order to search for these foods in still water with lush vegetation and silt, and to crush hard snail shells, these two crocodiles, although not closely related (the Chinese alligator belongs to the genus Alligator, while the broad-snouted caiman belongs to the genus Caiman of the subfamily Caimaninae), have evolved short and wide snouts and well-developed blunt teeth to adapt to this professional "snail-chewing" life. This phenomenon is called convergent evolution in biology.

Chinese alligator | Stolz, Gary M. / Wikipedia

However, as mentioned above, the Chinese alligator and the broad-nosed caiman are really outliers in the family. Most crocodiles are really fierce!

Crocodile: "I'm super fierce!"

There are 28 species of crocodilians in existence, including the Alligatoridae, the Chinese alligator, the True Crocodile Family, and the Long-snouted Alligator Family. Crocodilians are widely distributed in Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia, and their habitats include rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, coastal mudflats, harbors, and estuaries.

All existing crocodiles are semi-aquatic carnivores. They are nearly perfect ambush predators, with one of the strongest bite forces among vertebrates. With staggered conical teeth, they can hold struggling prey tightly and prevent them from escaping. The eyes, nostrils and ear flaps on the top of their heads allow them to observe the environment above the water surface quietly even when most of their bodies are hidden under water. The trigeminal nerves throughout their faces are used to sense the slightest vibrations in the water.

Crocodiles are formidable predators | Arturo de Frias Marques / wikimedia

The membranous bone plates and intradermal bones under the crocodile's epidermis are like the plate armor worn by ancient soldiers, which can protect the crocodile's body from being injured by struggling prey or the sharp teeth of its own kind.

In this way, the Chinese alligator seems to be the real shame of the crocodile family... Fortunately (?) in the family of true alligators, which is rich in fierce crocodiles, there are also some relatives with different styles. When it comes to "the shame of crocodiles", the Chinese alligator is not alone.

Some crocodiles are "cute and fierce"

The Eusuchidae is the largest family of the order Crocodilia, and the genus Crocodylus is the most familiar crocodile to us, from the stars of documentaries such as the giant Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and the saltwater crocodile (C. porosus), to the Siamese crocodile (C. siamensis), which is very common in captivity and even appears as meat in e-commerce. Most crocodilians have a long snout, which is V-shaped when viewed from above, and the third tooth of the lower jaw is large and protruding, just embedded in the depression of the upper jaw.

What? Eating crocodiles? Yes, you may remember the frozen crocodiles sold by Hema, that is Siamese crocodiles. Click on the picture to review 👆｜August Dominus / Wikimedia Commons

Crocodiles are generalists in the crocodile family, feeding on any animal they can catch. They eat everything from fish, shrimps, crabs and other crustaceans to frogs, turtles, waterfowl, and mammals that live near or in the water. Some large members, such as the saltwater crocodile, the Nile crocodile, and the American crocodile (C. acutus), can also prey on large animals such as turtles, wild boars, and buffaloes, and will also eat the carcasses of animals they encounter. The thick and sharp canine-like teeth in the front half of their jaws can be used to tear the skin and muscles of large animals, and the blunt teeth in the back of the jaws are used to crush the bones and shells of prey.

The Nile crocodile bites a buffalo | BBC Earth

However, the dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), which also belongs to the family of true crocodylidae, has a completely different "style". These small crocodiles that live in the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa have slender limbs and are covered with the heaviest bone armor among crocodiles. They hide in pools or caves during the day and go out at night to hunt small animals such as fish, frogs, crabs, snails, and insects in streams and fallen leaves on the rainforest floor. Some populations even live in caves where bats live, feeding on various cave-dwelling insects and bats that fall to the ground. In order to adapt to the life of hunting a variety of small prey on land and in shallow water, their skulls are short and high, and their teeth are small, which makes them look very cute.

Dwarf crocodile: I am weak, but I am cute | Herman Pijpers / Flickr

Some crocodiles are good at eating fish

As for another crocodile family, the Alligatoridae, whose existing species include the Ganges crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus) and the Malayan crocodile (Tomistoma schlegelii), the Alligatoridae are huge in size and have the most slender snouts among alligators, which gives them a "cone face" that is more exaggerated than photoshopped, with a large number of teeth of similar size, densely packed in needles.

The long snout of a gharial | Matěj Baťha / wikimedia

Alligators (especially the gharials) have short limbs, move clumsily on land, and have relatively degenerate subcutaneous bone plates. However, their long and wide tails allow them to swim swiftly in the turbulent waters of large rivers, making them true "dragons" in the water.

The trigeminal nerves in the snout of the Alligatoridae family are numerous and dense, and they are more sensitive to slight vibrations in the water than other crocodiles. The surface of the slender snout is smooth and lacks carvings (the bumpy "bumps" on the face of crocodiles), so it can sweep left and right in the water very quickly and flexibly. These characteristics are very suitable for preying on agile and smooth fish in deep water. The predation efficiency of these "fishermen" is so high that the Ganges crocodile has the nickname "fish-eating crocodile".

Malayan crocodile | Achim Raschka / Wikimedia Commons

The African narrow-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) and the Australian freshwater crocodile (C. johnstoni) of the family Truesuchia also feed mainly on fish or other small aquatic prey, so they also have slender snouts similar to those of the family Long-snouted Crocodile and densely arranged needle-like teeth.

Don't interact with wild animals in this way

However, it should be emphasized that due to the destruction of its habitat, the Yangtze alligator is already extremely rare in the wild and is in a critically endangered state. It is a first-class protected animal in my country.

At the same time, although the Chinese alligator is gentle and usually likes to eat "snail noodles" peacefully, it is still a wild animal with a certain degree of aggression and attack ability. If you see a Chinese alligator in the wild or in a zoo, please do not harass or tease it, and do not feed it with human food. This is not only to protect rare and endangered wild animals, but also for our own personal safety.

Author: Black-scaled cockscomb snake

Edit: Red Queen

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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