Belize Crocodile

About the Belize Crocodile

Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii), also known commonly as the Mexican crocodile, the Belize crocodile, and el cocodrilo de pantano in Spanish, is a modest-sized crocodilian in the family Crocodylidae. The species is found only in the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about 3 metres (10 ft) in total length (tail included). It is a species at least concern for extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The species has a fossil record in Guatemala. Morelet's crocodile was first discovered in 1850 in Mexico by the French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet. The species was subsequently named after him in 1851 by French herpetologists Auguste Duméril and Gabriel Bibron. It was long confused with the American and Cuban crocodiles because of similar characteristics and an ambiguous type locality. It was not generally accepted as a separate species until the 1920s.

The genus Crocodylus likely originated in Africa and radiated outwards towards Southeast Asia and the Americas, although an Australia/Asia origin has also been considered. Phylogenetic evidence supports Crocodylus... Wikipedia →