Extant Reptiles & Amphibians Codexery

Mugger crocodile

Medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile of southern Asia

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The mugger crocodile, also called the marsh crocodile, is a medium-sized reptile with a notably broad snout. Its scientific name is Crocodylus palustris. This species lives in freshwater environments like marshes, lakes, rivers, and man-made ponds, ranging from southeastern Iran across the Indian subcontinent. Although it rarely exceeds 5 meters in length, it is a strong swimmer and will travel over land during hot weather to find new water sources.

Both young and adult muggers dig burrows to escape extreme temperatures—below 5°C or above 38°C. Females lay up to 46 eggs in sandy holes during the dry season, and the temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. Both parents guard their young for up to a year. Hatchlings eat insects, while adults hunt fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

This crocodile has been a symbol of both life-giving and destructive river forces since the Vedic period. It was first formally described in 1831. Today, it is legally protected in Iran, India, and Sri Lanka, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1982. Outside protected areas, it faces threats from habitat loss, entanglement in fishing nets, and deaths from human–wildlife conflict and traffic accidents.

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassReptilia
  4. FamilyCrocodylidae
  5. GenusCrocodylus
  6. SpeciesCrocodylus palustris

Named by (Lesson, 1831)

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Mugger crocodile (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1398059 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU▲ this species
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2013

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

Where the mugger crocodile has been recorded

Where the mugger crocodile has been recorded6 mapped locations from 3,277 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Sivalik Hills, Prakasam district, Dasht River, Ghodaghodi Tal, Chitwan National Park, Koshi Tappu Wildlife ReserveSivalik HillsPrakasam districtDasht RiverGhodaghodi TalChitwan National ParkKoshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (3,277 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 122 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Genus
Crocodylus
Species
palustris

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

The mugger crocodile evolved at least and has been a symbol for the fructifying and destructive powers of the rivers since the Vedic period. It was first scientifically described in 1831. Fossil crocodile specimens excavated in the Sivalik Hills closely resemble the mugger crocodile in the shortness of the premaxillae and in the form of the nasal openings.

In Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district, a 30.6 cm long fossilized skull of a mugger crocodile was found in a volcanic ash bed that probably dates to the late Pleistocene. Crocodylus palaeindicus from late Pliocene sediments in the Sivalik Hills is thought to be an ancestor of the mugger crocodile. Fossil remains of C. palaeindicus were also excavated in the vicinity of Bagan in central Myanmar.

Reader's Guide

The mugger crocodile occurs in southern Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka up to an elevation of 420 m. It inhabits freshwater lakes, rivers and marshes, prefers slow-moving, shallow water bodies, and also thrives in artificial reservoirs and irrigation canals. In Iran, it occurs along rivers in Sistan and Baluchestan Province along the Iran–Pakistan border. In Pakistan, a small population lives in 21 ponds around Dasht River.

In Nepal's Terai, it occurs in the wetlands of Shuklaphanta and Bardia National Parks, Ghodaghodi Tal, Chitwan National Park and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. In India, it occurs in several states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, it occurs in Wilpattu, Yala and Bundala National Parks. It is possibly locally extinct in Bangladesh, extinct in Bhutan, and locally extinct in Myanmar.

Did You Know?

Related entries

Named in this entry

Wilpattu National ParkYala National ParkBundala National ParkDNA sequencingDroughtHyperthermiaSquirrelCrab

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was the mugger crocodile first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1831.

From the source: “It was first scientifically described in 1831 and is protected by law in Iran, India and Sri Lanka.”

2. What is the scientific name of the mugger crocodile?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Crocodylus palustris.

From the source: “The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile.”

3. Who first scientifically described the mugger crocodile?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is René Lesson.

From the source: “Crocodilus palustris was the scientific name proposed by René Lesson in 1831 who scientifically described the type specimen from the Gangetic plains.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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