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A member of this order is called a crocodilian, or colloquially a crocodile. The 9 genera and 28 species of Crocodilia are split into 3 subfamilies: Alligatoridae, alligators and caimans; Crocodylidae, true crocodiles; and Gavialidae, the gharial and false gharial.
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. . Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8
Crocodiles are ambush predators, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles mostly eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, reptiles, and mammals, and they occasionally cannibalize smaller crocodiles. What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age.
Species with sharp teeth and long, slender snouts, like the Indian gharial and Australian freshwater crocodile, are specialized for snapping fish, insects, and crustaceans. Extremely broad-snouted species with blunt teeth, like the Chinese alligator and the broad-snouted caiman, are equipped for crushing hard-shelled molluscs.
Articles about taxa in the order Crocodilia—the crocodiles, alligators, and gharials, as well as some extinct species Subcategories This category has the following 11 subcategories, out of 11 total.
The generic name, Crocodylus, was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. [2] Crocodylus contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species. There are additional extinct species attributed to the genus Crocodylus that studies have shown no longer belong, although they have not yet been reassigned to new genera.
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs .
Common names of fish can refer to a single species; to an entire group of species, such as a genus or family; or to multiple unrelated species or groups. Ambiguous common names are accompanied by their possible meanings. Scientific names for individual species and higher taxa are included in parentheses.