Alligator Essay
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The American Crocodile (Crocodiles acutus) Crocodylus acutus, or more commonly
referred to as the American crocodile, "…is the second most widely
distributed of the New World crocodiles, ranging from the southern tip of
Florida, both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of Southern Mexico, as well as the
Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola" (1 Species). These
areas provide the perfect climate for these endangered species that have roamed
the earth for over 200 million years. Florida is known for its large population
of American alligators, which are often confused for the rare American
crocodile. However, there are vast differences between the two species. Hunted
for their hides and the changing of their habitat to beach front property is
slowly pushing the American crocodile out of Florida, the only place it is found
in the United States. "For 190 million years before the first humans
evolved, huge populations of crocodilians, in more or less their present form,
inhabited the waters and shorelines of rivers, lakes, swamps, and estuaries of
tropical and subtropical lands. Today they represent the last true survivors of
the huge reptiles that once dominated the seas and landmasses of Earth for over
200 million years" (6 Levy). However, "…It is inappropriate to treat
crocodilians as living fossils whose inferiority forced them into a marginal
ecological role as amphibious predators in a world now dominated by mammals. In
fact, they are highly specialized for their particular mode of life and have
undergone considerable changes during their long evolutionary history…"
(14 Ross). "Among living vertebrates, crocodilians are most closely related
to birds rather than to lizards" (14). Even though these two groups are now
adapted to different modes of life, they both have an elongate outer ear canal,
a muscular gizzard, and complete separation of the ventricles of the heart.
"Crocodilians are the most advanced of all reptiles. They are elongated,
armored, and lizard-like, with a muscular, laterally shaped tail used in
swimming. The snout is also elongated, with the nostrils set to the end to allow
breathing while most of the body remains submerged under water". "The
success of the Crocodile is evidenced by the relatively few changes that have
occurred since crocodilians first appeared about 200 million years ago".
The Crocodile belongs to the family Crocodylinae, which consists of those
organisms sharing common crocodilian traits. This Family is further divided into
three subfamilies: Alligatorinae (alligators), Gavialinae (gharial), and
Crocodylinae (crocodiles). Very often the American alligator (Alligatorinae
mississippiensis) is confused for an American crocodile, even though these two
species are of the same family they are different in many ways. The alligator
has a much broader snout and the crocodile a much narrower snout-
"…narrower snouts usually indicating fish eating-species". Another
characteristic seen in the American crocodile and not the alligator is the front
two teeth that penetrate the upper jaw from below as they grow. These teeth are
one of the major differences between crocodiles and alligators. A not so
recognizable difference between the American crocodile and alligator is the
crocodile's ability to regulate saltwater balance in their body. Crocodiles
maintain salt concentrations in their body fluid at the typical level of other
vertebrates, which is about one-third that of seawater. "The osmoregulatory
problems posed by life in fresh or saline waters are related to the amounts of
water and salts exchanged across various body surfaces. Loss of salts and water
occurs in feces and urine, through respiration, excretion from salt glands in
the tongue, and through the skin. The ability of the American crocodile to
tolerate salt water is related to their low rate of water loss, low rate of
sodium uptake, the ability to excrete excess sodium, and their ability to
osmoregulate regularly behaviorally by not drinking saline water or by seeking
fresh water after feeding in saline areas". [The American crocodiles will
not drink seawater even when they are dehydrated and the American alligator
will. However, the alligator does not have the ability to excrete excess
sodium]. While the American Crocodile is able to regulate its salinity it is not
able to maintain a constant body temperature. Crocodiles, like all reptiles, are
cold blooded or pokilothermic. "Crocodiles utilize a complex series of
physiological and behavioral mechanisms to maintain an even body temperature.
When their body temperature drops, they use solar radiation to heat their bodies
as they emerge from the water to bask in shallow waters or on the shoreline. As
their temperature rises they hold their mouths agape to allow some evaporative
cooling. The membranes of the mouth cavity play a major role in regulating
temperature." Sometimes crocodiles will partially bask in the sun with
their tail or head in the water, this allows them to optimally adjust their
temperatures. Body temperature can also be adjusted by shunting blood towards or
away from their surface. "As crocodiles cool the superficial blood vessels
constrict, thereby limiting the amount of heat loss at the animal's surface and
maintaining a steady core temperature". [Another temperature-regulating
strategy is mud bathing, which provides another layer of insulation against
extremes in environmental temperatures]. The American crocodile is found in
subtropical to tropical area, were it is optimal for body temperature
regulation. It is considered an estuarine species that is capable of migrating
through salt water. "It is quite the sea going species ranging from Equador
along the Pacific Coast to western Mexico, and from eastern Mexico to Guatemala,
the coastal areas of Colombia and Venezuela, and north through the Caribbean to
the southernmost tip of Florida" (40 Guggisberg). "This species is the
common resident of coastal habitats, large rivers, and lakes within its
range" (65 Ross). "Populations are known from freshwater areas located
well inland, including a number of reservoirs" (1 Species). "In
Florida, C. acutus can be found in mangrove swamps and saltwater marshes with
sandy, undisturbed high spots" (10B Sun-sentinel). "South Florida is
the northern end of [C. acutus's] range. Historically, crocodiles have lived in
Florida from Cape Sable to Lake Worth in Palm Beach County, and fewer numbers,
up to Sanibel on the west coast. The largest population in Florida has always
lived in the extreme southern end of the peninsula. Because of destruction of
habitat, the crocodiles' range is now limited to the undeveloped areas from Cape
Sable to North Key Largo and Turkey Point" (6H Weinlaub). The American
crocodile was placed on the endangered species list in 1975. "[C. acutus}
produces a commercially valuable hide and the principal reason for past declines
in population size can be attributed to the extensive commercial
overexploitation that occurred from the 1930s into the 1960's (1 Species).
"In most populations C. acutus is extensively hunted with only one or two
populations being adequately protected in national parks in Costa Rica,
Venezuela, and the United States" (226 Ross). "Once crocodilian skin
was a source of high-quality, pliable, decorative leather that takes on a bright
sheen when processed, trafficking in skins became big business with huge
returns. Crocodilian skins are processed into a large variety of very expensive
leather products. In the early 1900s US tanneries alone were processing between
250,000 and 500,000 skins per year. As supplies dwindled...
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