Mugger crocodile
| Mugger crocodile | |
|---|---|
 | |
Conservation status | |
 Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Family: | Crocodylidae |
| Subfamily: | Crocodylinae |
| Genus: | Crocodylus |
| Species: | C. palustris |
Binomial name | |
Crocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831[1] | |
 | |
| Distribution of mugger crocodile | |
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), also called marsh crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile and mugger is a crocodilian native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran and Pakistan to the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. It is extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1982.[1]
It is a medium-sized crocodile that inhabits lakes, rivers, marshes and artificial ponds. Both young and adult mugger crocodiles dig burrows where they retreat when temperature drops below 5 °C (41 °F) or exceeds 38 °C (100 °F). Females dig holes in the sand as nesting sites and lay up to 46 eggs during the dry season.[2][3][4] Sex of hatchlings depends on temperature during incubation.[5] It preys on fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Young feed on insects.[6][7]
It is one of three crocodilians in India, apart from saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) and gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).[8]
Contents
1 Characteristics
2 Taxonomy
3 Distribution and habitat
4 Behaviour and ecology
4.1 Hunting and diet
4.2 Tool use
4.3 Reproduction
4.4 Sympatric crocodilians
4.5 Attacks on humans
5 Threats
6 Conservation
6.1 In captivity
7 Etymology
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Characteristics
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The mugger crocodile is considered a medium-sized crocodilian, but has the broadest snout among living crocodilians.[4] It has a powerful tail and webbed feet. Its visual, hearing and smelling senses are acute.[2]
Mugger hatchlings are pale olive with black spots. Adults are dark olive to grey or brown. The head is rough without any ridges and large scutes around the neck that is well separated from the back. Scutes usually form four, rarely six longitudinal series and 16 or 17 transverse series. The limbs have keeled scales with serrated fringes on outer edges, and outer toes are extensively webbed. The snout is slightly longer than broad with 19 upper teeth on each side. The symphysis of the lower jaw extends to the level of the fourth or fifth tooth. The premaxillary suture on the palate is nearly straight or curved forwards, and the nasal bones separate the premaxilla above.[9]
Adult female muggers are 2 to 2.5 m (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 2 in) on average, and male muggers 3 to 3.5 m (9 ft 10 in to 11 ft 6 in). They rarely grow up to 5 m (16 ft 5 in). The largest known muggers measured 5.63 m (18 ft 6 in).[2] The average size of adult mugger crocodiles in Manghopir Lake was estimated at 2.89 m (9 ft 6 in), with a weight of around 100 kg (220 lb).[10] One male mugger caught in Pakistan of about 3 m (9 ft 10 in) weighed 195 kg (430 lb).[11]
The largest zoological specimen in the British Museum of Natural History measures 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in).[9]
Taxonomy
The mugger crocodile was described in 1834 by René Lesson using a type specimen that was caught in the Ganges.[12]
Distribution and habitat
The mugger crocodile occurs in southern Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, but is probably extinct in Bangladesh.[1] It inhabits freshwater lakes, rivers and marshes, and prefers slow-moving, shallow water bodies. It is also known to thrive in artificial reservoirs and irrigation canals.[4]
In Iran, the mugger occurs along rivers in Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces along the Iran–Pakistan border.[1] On the Iranian Makran coast near Chabahar lives a population of around 200 mugger crocodiles. Due to human activity and a long drought in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it had been pushed to the brink of extinction. Following several tropical cyclones in 2007 and 2010, much of the habitat of the mugger crocodiles has been restored as formerly dry lakes and hamuns were flooded again.[13]
In Pakistan's Sindh Province, small mugger populations occur in wetlands of Deh Akro 2 and Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuaries, near Chotiari Dam, in the Nara Canal and around Haleji lake.[14][15][16]
In Nepal's Terai, it occurs in wetlands of Shuklaphanta, Bardia National Parks, Ghodaghodi Tal and Chitwan National Parks, and in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve.[17][18][19][20]
In India, it occurs in:
- Rajasthan along the Chambal, Ken and Son Rivers, and in Ranthambore National Park[21][22]
- Gujarat along the Vishwamitri River[23]
- Madhya Pradesh's National Chambal Sanctuary[24][25]
- Uttarakhand's Rajaji National Park, Corbett Tiger Reserve and Lansdowne Forest Division[26]
- Uttar Pradesh's Katarniaghat and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuaries[27]
- Odisha's Simlipal National Park and along Mahanadi and Sabari Rivers[28][29]
- Telangana's Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary[22]
- Maharashtra's Kadavi and Warna Rivers[30]
- Goa's Salaulim Reservoir, Zuari River and in small lakes[22]
- Karnakata along Kaveri and Kabini Rivers, in the Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Nagarhole National Park and Tungabhadra Reservoir[22]
- Kerala's Parambikulam Reservoir and Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary[22][31]
- Tamil Nadu's Moyar River and Amaravathi Reservoir[22]
In Sri Lanka, it occurs in several national parks such as Wilpattu, Yala and Bundala National Parks.[4][32] Between 1991 and 1996, it has been recorded in another 102 localities.[33]
Behaviour and ecology
The mugger crocodile is a powerful swimmer that uses its tail and hind feet to move forward, change direction and submerge. It belly-walks, with its belly touching ground, at the bottom of waterbodies and on land. During the hot dry season, it walks over land at night to find suitable wetlands and spends most of the day submerged in water. During the cold season it basks on riverbanks, individuals are tolerant of others during this period. Territorial behaviour increases during the mating season.[2]
Like all crocodilians, the mugger crocodile is a thermoconformer and has an optimal body temperature of 30 to 35 °C (86 to 95 °F) and risks dying of freezing or hyperthermia when exposed to temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) or above 38 °C (100 °F), respectively. It digs burrows to retreat from extreme temperatures and other harsh climatic conditions.[34]
Burrows are between 0.6 and 6 m (2.0 and 19.7 ft) deep, with entrances above the water level and a chamber at the end that is big enough to allow the mugger to turn around.[2] Temperatures inside remains constant at 19.2 to 29 °C (66.6 to 84.2 °F), depending on region.[32]
Hunting and diet
The mugger crocodile preys on fish, snakes, turtles, birds and mammals including monkeys, squirrels, rodents, otters and dogs. It also scavenges on dead animals. During dry seasons, muggers walk many kilometers over land in search of water and prey.[3] Hatchlings feed mainly on insects such as beetles, but also on crabs and shrimp and on vertebrates later on.[6][7] Subadult and adult muggers favour fish, and prey on small to medium-sized ungulates up to the size of chital, a deer species Axis axis.[35] When hunting large mammals such as deer they will sometimes leave it to rot while wedged under water before pulling it apart.[18] They seize and drag potential prey approaching watersides into the water, when the opportunity arises. Adult muggers also feed on turtles and tortoises.[36][37] Muggers have also been observed while preying and feeding on a python.[7]
Tool use
Mugger crocodiles have been documented using lures to hunt birds.[38] This means they are among the first reptiles recorded to use tools. By balancing sticks and branches on their heads, they lure birds that are looking for nesting material. This strategy is particularly effective during the nesting season.[39]
Reproduction
Female muggers obtain sexual maturity at a body length of around 1.8–2.2 m (5.9–7.2 ft) at the age of about 6.5 years, and males at around 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) body length. The reproduction cycle starts earliest in November at the onset of the cold season with courtship and mating. Between February and June, females dig 35–56 cm (1.15–1.84 ft) deep holes for nesting between 1 and 2,000 m (3.3 and 6,561.7 ft) away from the waterside. They lay up to two clutches with 8 to 46 eggs each. Eggs weigh 128 g (4.5 oz) on average. Laying of one clutch usually takes less than half an hour. Thereafter, females scrape sand over the nest to close it. Males have been observed to assist females in digging and protecting nest sites. Hatchling season is two months later, between April and June in South India, and in Sri Lanka between August and September. Then females excavate the young, pick them up in their snouts and take them to the water. Both females and males protect the young for up to one year.[2][3]
Healthy hatchlings develop at a temperature range of 28–33 °C (82–91 °F). Sex ratio of hatched eggs depends on incubation temperature and exposure of nests to sunshine. Only females develop at constant temperatures of 28–31 °C (82–88 °F), and only males at 32.5 °C (90.5 °F). Percentage of females in a clutch decreases at constant temperatures between 32.6 and 33 °C (90.7 and 91.4 °F), and of males between 31 and 32.4 °C (87.8 and 90.3 °F). Temperature in natural nests is not constant but varies between nights and days. Foremost females hatch in natural early nests when initial temperature inside nests ranges between 26.4 and 28.9 °C (79.5 and 84.0 °F). The percentage of male hatchlings increases in late nests located in sunny sites.[5] Hatchlings are 26–31 cm (10–12 in) long and weigh 75 g (2.6 oz) on average when one month old. They grow about 4.25 cm (1.67 in) per month and reach a body length of 90–170 cm (35–67 in) when two years old.[2]
Sympatric crocodilians
The mugger crocodile is sympatric with the gharial in the river systems of the Ganges, Chambal, Son, Ramganga, Girwa and eastern Mahanadi, as well as in the Rapti and Narayani Rivers.[40][24][20]
In a few coastal areas, it overlaps in distribution with the saltwater crocodile but normally is able to avoid direct conflict by favoring different habitats. Mugger barely enters the brackish and saltwater habitat and prefers shallower waterways. It forages on more diverse prey.[4][41][42]
Attacks on humans
The mugger crocodile is potentially dangerous to humans. Fatal attacks have been reported, though less frequently than by saltwater and Nile crocodiles. Human victims are dragged into the water and drowned, but are rarely consumed.[43]
In the 1990s, several fatal attacks of muggers on humans have been reported in Gujarat, India.[44]
Since large muggers occasionally take livestock, this leads to conflict with local people living close to mugger habitat. In Maharashtra, local people are compensated for loss of close relatives and livestock.[7][45]
Threats
The mugger crocodile is threatened by habitat destruction because of conversion of natural habitats for agricultural and industrial use. As humans encroach into their habitat the incidents of conflict increase. Muggers are entangled in fishing equipment and drown, and are killed in areas where fishermen perceive them as competition.[1]
In Gujarat, two muggers were found killed, one in 2015 with the tail cut off and internal organs missing; the other in 2017, also with the tail cut off. The missing body parts indicate that the crocodiles were sacrificed in superstitious practices or used as aphrodisiacs.[46]
Conservation
The mugger crocodile is listed in CITES Appendix I, hence export of wild-caught specimen is banned.[1]
In captivity
In India, a total of 1,193 captive bred muggers were released to restock populations in 28 protected areas between 1978 and 1992. Production of new offspring was halted by the Indian Government in 1994.[1]
The Amaravati Sagar Crocodile Farm was established in 1975 in Tamil Nadu, and is the largest crocodile nursery in India. Eggs were collected from wild nests along the Amaravathi Reservoir, and hatched and reared at the farm. Up to 430 captive animals were maintained at one time. Young crocodiles were reintroduced into the wild.[47]
Etymology
The Hindi word मगर magar means crocodile.[48]
The Sanskrit word मकर makar refers to both Capricornus and crocodile.[49]
See also
- Crocodiles in India
- List of reptiles of South Asia
References
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External links
 | Wikispecies has information related to Crocodylus palustris |
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crocodylus palustris. |
Crocodylus palustris at the Encyclopedia of Life
"Mugger". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
"Eight Crocodiles, Two Tortoises, Australian Parrots Seized; Two Held". Mid-Day. 2018.
"Marsh crocodiles in good condition in Iran". Tehran Times Daily Newspaper. 2018.
Nelson, D. (2011). "Fifteen-foot Bengali crocodile claims king of jungle title from tiger". The Telegraph.
"Mugger". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
