EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Each week a different image of our fascinating environment is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional ecologist.

16-22 January 2006

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Nile Crocodile Skull

Skull of Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) ,
Zambia, Africa

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:   Be glad that this crocodile in your hands is but a shell (endoskeleton) of its former self.  This is a skull of a Nile crocodile, which we visited alive in a previous EPOW.

Nicely adapted to feeding on large animals, such as impala and even an occasional water buffalo, Nile crocodiles have a tremendous jaw strength, reputedly up to 3000 pounds per square inch (as compared to a large dog's bite of only 100 psi).  The long snout, wide gape, and top-positioned eyes are all adaptations for ambush predation.  

Nile crocodiles have 5 pre-maxillary teeth and 13 or 14 maxillaries (all in the upper jaw), and 14 or 15 mandibulars (in the lower jaw), so the total number of teeth vary from 64 to 68.  In zoological parlance, this "dental formula" is expressed as:

        5  +  13-14
        ---------------
            14-15

Think you can buy a crocodile skull?  Best to leave them in their native environment.  And even a reproduction of a Nile crocodile skull is not cheap.  

Next week's picture:  Polylepis Woodlands of the Paramo

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