One of the 10 crocodiles on WAnimals
Reptiles · Crocodilia · Crocodylidae
Crocodylus moreletii
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
It was hunted almost to extinction through the 1940s and 1950s for its valuable skin, and has recovered markedly since hunting was banned.
Weight
30 kg – 58 kg
Size
1.5 m – 4.7 m
Life expectancy
55 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Estimated population
Close to 20,000 adults in the wild after a notable recovery: the species was on the brink of extinction in the 1940s and 1950s through hunting for the skin trade, and today holds healthy populations across much of its range in Mexico, northern Guatemala and Belize
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info) · Britannica · Animalia.bio · Animal Diversity Web · USGS NAS Species Profile · The Animal Facts · Wikipedia (Morelet's crocodile) · IUCN Red List, evaluación de Crocodylus moreletii · IUCN SSC Crocodile Specialist Group · World Land Trust · IUCN SSC Crocodile Specialist Group, ficha de Crocodylus moreletii · Platt y Thorbjarnarson 2000
Best time: From April to June, just before the rainy season, when the females build their mound nests beside the water; surveys of the species are carried out at night with a spotlight, because that is when it can be detected
The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Morelet's Crocodile — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about morelet's crocodile.
