Reptiles · Crocodilia · Crocodylidae

New Guinea Crocodile

Crocodylus novaeguineae

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The New Guinea crocodile is a medium-sized crocodile that lives in the freshwater wetlands of the island's interior, separate from the saltwater crocodile, which occupies the coasts. Its management in Papua New Guinea is one of the most frequently cited models of sustainable wildlife use in the world.

Weight

50 kg – 150 kg

Size

2.5 m – 3.5 m

Lifespan

50 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.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestFreshwaterCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Reptile Rainforest Freshwater

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Fun facts

Its management in Papua New Guinea is an international model: local communities collect a limited number of eggs and hatchlings under quota, raise them and sell the skins, and that income turns the crocodile and its wetland into an economic asset worth conserving.
The populations of the north and south of the island are separated by the central mountain range and have been isolated for millions of years: in 2019 they were formally described as two separate species.
It is strictly a freshwater animal, which separates it ecologically from the saltwater crocodile, with which it overlaps in the island's estuaries.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Swamps, lakes, slow rivers and freshwater wetlands of the interior of New Guinea
Sexual maturity: 6 years
Gestation / incubation: 2.9 months
Litter / clutch size: 30 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodylus_novaeguineae