Editing Crocodile (section)

===Hunting and diet===
[[File:Crocodile attack during Mara River crossing - frame 1 - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg|thumb|Nile crocodile attacking wildebeest]]
[[File:Human Crocodile Conflict.jpg|thumb|An example of humans and mugger crocodiles in the same environment]]
[[File:Crocodile at Ranganathittu, Mysore, Karnataka.JPG|thumb|Even a cruising crocodile is difficult to locate]]
Crocodiles are [[ambush predator]]s, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles mostly eat [[fish]], [[amphibian]]s, [[crustacean]]s, [[mollusc]]s, [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, and [[mammal]]s, and they occasionally [[cannibalize]] smaller crocodiles. What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age. From the mostly fish-eating species, like the [[Slender-snouted crocodile|slender-snouted]] and [[freshwater crocodile]]s, to the larger species like the [[Nile crocodile]] and the [[saltwater crocodile]] that prey on large mammals, such as [[Bovinae|buffalo]], [[deer]] and [[wild boar]], diet shows great diversity. Diet is also greatly affected by the size and age of the individual within the same species. All young crocodiles hunt mostly [[invertebrates]] and small [[fish]], gradually moving on to larger prey. Being [[ectotherm]]ic (cold-blooded) predators, they have a very slow [[metabolism]], so they can survive long periods without food. Despite their appearance of being slow, crocodiles have a very fast strike and are top [[predator]]s in their environment, and various species have been observed attacking and killing other [[predator]]s such as [[shark]]s and [[big cat]]s.<ref name = NGeographicCroc>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/?nav=A-Z |title=Saltwater Crocodile, Saltwater Crocodile Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News – National Geographic |publisher=Animals.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=16 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://crocodilian.com/cnhc/csp_cnil.htm |title=Crocodilian Species – Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) |publisher=Crocodilian.com |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-date=25 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025183255/http://crocodilian.com/cnhc/csp_cnil.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Crocodiles are also known to be aggressive [[scavenger]]s who feed upon [[carrion]] and steal from other predators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australiananimallearningzone.com/saltwater-crocodile-crocodylus-porosus.htm|title=Saltwater Crocodile Profile|work=Australian Animal|date=22 December 2012 }}</ref> Evidence suggests that crocodiles also feed upon fruits, based on the discovery of seeds in stools and stomachs from many subjects as well as accounts of them feeding.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.popsci.com/article/science/are-crocodiles-secret-fruit-lovers|title=ARE CROCODILES SECRET FRUIT-LOVERS?|magazine=[[Popular Science]]|author=Jon Tennant}} 13 November 2013</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/39198-crocodiles-alligators-eat-fruit.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=more-from-livescience|title=Crikey! Crocodiles and Alligators Snack on Fruit|work=[[Live Science]]|author=Charles Q. Choi|date=27 August 2013}} 27 August 2013</ref>

Crocodiles have the most acidic stomach of any vertebrate. They can easily digest bones, hooves and horns. The [[BBC TV]]<ref>BBC channel 1 program ''Inside The Perfect Predator'', Thursday 25 March 2010</ref> reported that a [[Nile crocodile]] that has lurked a long time underwater to catch prey builds up a large [[oxygen debt]]. When it has caught and eaten that prey, it closes its right [[aortic arch]] and uses its left aortic arch to flush blood loaded with [[carbon dioxide]] from its muscles directly to its stomach; the resulting excess acidity in its blood supply makes it much easier for the stomach lining to secrete more [[stomach acid]] to quickly dissolve bulks of swallowed prey flesh and bone. Many large crocodilians swallow stones (called gastroliths or stomach stones), which may act as ballast to balance their bodies or assist in crushing food,<ref name=ausfauna /> similar to grit ingested by birds. [[Herodotus]] claimed that Nile crocodiles had a [[symbiosis|symbiotic relationship]] with certain birds, such as the [[Egyptian plover]], which enter the crocodile's mouth and pick [[leech]]es feeding on the crocodile's blood; with no evidence of this interaction actually occurring in any crocodile species, it is most likely mythical or allegorical fiction.<ref>{{cite web |author=Adam Britton |url=http://crocodilian.blogspot.com/2009/09/crocodile-myths-1-curious-trochilus.html |title=Croc Blog: Crocodile myths #1 – the curious trochilus |publisher=Crocodilian.blogspot.com |date=6 September 2009 |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-date=11 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311082746/http://crocodilian.blogspot.com/2009/09/crocodile-myths-1-curious-trochilus.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Bite====
[[File:Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) trying to swallow a big Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.)... (16818888756).jpg|thumb|left|Nile crocodile trying to swallow a big [[Tilapia]] in [[Kruger National Park]], South Africa]]
Since they feed by grabbing and holding onto their prey, they have [[Evolution|evolved]] sharp teeth for piercing and holding onto flesh, and powerful muscles to close the jaws and hold them shut. The teeth are not well-suited to tearing flesh off of large prey items as are the dentition and claws of many mammalian carnivores, the hooked bills and talons of [[Bird of prey|raptorial birds]], or the serrated teeth of sharks. However, this is an advantage rather than a disadvantage to the crocodile since the properties of the teeth allow it to hold onto prey with the least possibility of the prey animal escaping. Cutting teeth, combined with the exceptionally high [[bite|bite force]], would pass through flesh easily enough to leave an escape opportunity for prey. The jaws can bite down with immense force, by far the strongest bite of any animal. The force of a large crocodile's bite is more than {{convert|5000|lbf|N|abbr=on}}, which was measured in a {{convert|5.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Nile crocodile]], in the field;<ref>National Geographic documentary; "Bite Force", Brady Barr.</ref> comparing to {{convert|335|lbf|N|abbr=on}} for a [[Rottweiler]], {{convert|800|lbf|N|abbr=on}} for a [[hyena]], {{convert|2200|lbf|N|abbr=on}} for an [[American alligator]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dogfacts.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/national-geographics-dr-brady-barrs-bite-pressure-tests/ |title=National Geographic's Dr. Brady Barr's Bite Pressure Tests &#124; Dog Facts |publisher=Dogfacts.wordpress.com |access-date=26 April 2013|date=3 February 2008 }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2014}} and {{convert|4095|lbf|N|abbr=on}} for the largest confirmed [[great white shark]].<ref name="GWB">{{cite journal|last=Wroe|first=S.|author2=Huber, D. R.|author3=Lowry, M.|author4=McHenry, C.|author5=Moreno, K.|author6=Clausen, P.|author7=Ferrara, T. L.|author8=Cunningham, E.|author9=Dean, M. N. |author10= Summers, A. P.|title=Three-dimensional computer analysis of white shark jaw mechanics: how hard can a great white bite?|url=http://www.bio-nica.info/Biblioteca/Wroe2008GreatWhiteSharkBiteForce.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bio-nica.info/Biblioteca/Wroe2008GreatWhiteSharkBiteForce.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=276|issue=4|pages=336–342|year= 2008|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00494.x}}</ref>

A {{convert|5.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} long saltwater crocodile has been confirmed as having the strongest [[bite|bite force]] ever recorded for an animal in a laboratory setting. It was able to apply a bite force value of {{convert|3700|lbf|N|abbr=on}}, and thus surpassed the previous record of {{convert|2125|lbf|N|abbr=on}} made by a {{convert|3.9|m|ft|abbr=on}} long [[American alligator]].<ref name="lappin">{{cite journal|title=The ontogeny of bite-force performance in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)|journal=[[Journal of Zoology]]|volume=260|issue=3|pages=317–327|url=http://www.alligatorfarm.us/images/Research/Erickson%20et%20al.%202003.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.alligatorfarm.us/images/Research/Erickson%20et%20al.%202003.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|doi=10.1017/S0952836903003819|year=2003|last1=Erickson|first1=Gregory M.|last2=Lappin|first2=A. Kristopher|last3=Vliet|first3=Kent A.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120316093427.htm|title=Australian saltwater crocodiles are world's most powerful biters |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=e31781 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0031781 |pmid=22431965 |pmc=3303775 |date=16 March 2012 |access-date=26 April 2013|bibcode=2012PLoSO...731781E|last1=Erickson |first1=Gregory M. |last2=Gignac |first2=Paul M. |last3=Steppan |first3=Scott J. |last4=Lappin |first4=A. Kristopher |last5=Vliet |first5=Kent A. |last6=Brueggen |first6=John D. |last7=Inouye |first7=Brian D. |last8=Kledzik |first8=David |last9=Webb |first9=Grahame J. W. |doi-access=free }}</ref> Taking the measurements of several {{convert|5.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} crocodiles as reference, the bite forces of 6-m individuals were estimated at {{convert|7700|lbf|N|abbr=on}}.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120315-crocodiles-bite-force-erickson-science-plos-one-strongest/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317064400/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120315-crocodiles-bite-force-erickson-science-plos-one-strongest/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 March 2012 |title=Crocodiles Have Strongest Bite Ever Measured, Hands-on Tests Show |publisher=News.nationalgeographic.com |date=15 March 2012 |access-date=26 April 2013}}</ref> The study, led by Dr. [[Gregory M. Erickson]], also shed light on the larger, [[extinct]] species of [[crocodilian]]s. Since crocodile [[anatomy]] has changed only slightly over the last 80 million years, current data on modern crocodilians can be used to estimate the bite force of extinct species. An {{convert|11|to(-)|12|m|ft|adj=on}} [[Deinosuchus]] would apply a force of {{convert|23100|lbf|N|abbr=on}}, nearly twice that of the latest, higher bite force estimations of [[Tyrannosaurus]] ({{convert|12814|lbf|N|abbr=on}}).<ref name="nationalgeographic1" /><ref name="FalkinghamBatesBiteforce2012">{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Tyrannosaurus-Rexs-Dangerous-and-Deadly-Bite-37252918/|title=The Tyrannosaurus Rex's Dangerous and Deadly Bite|website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|date=October 2012|first=Riley|last=Black|access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="BatesFalkingham2012">{{Cite journal|last1=Bates|first1=K. T.|last2=Falkingham|first2=P.L.|date=29 February 2012|title=Estimating maximum bite performance in Tyrannosaurus rex using multi-body dynamics|journal=Biology Letters|volume=8|issue=4|pages=660–664|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2012.0056|pmid=22378742|pmc=3391458}}</ref><ref>Crispian Scully, (2002) ''Oxford Handbook of Applied Dental Sciences'', Oxford University Press –{{ISBN|978-0-19-851096-3}} P156</ref> The extraordinary bite of crocodilians is a result of their [[anatomy]]. The space for the jaw muscle in the [[skull]] is very large, which is easily visible from the outside as a bulge at each side. The [[muscle]] is so stiff, it is almost as hard as bone to touch, as if it were the continuum of the skull. Another trait is that most of the muscle in a crocodile's jaw is arranged for clamping down. Despite the strong muscles to close the jaw, crocodiles have extremely small and weak muscles to open the jaw. Crocodiles can thus be subdued for study or transport by [[duct tape|taping]] their jaws or holding their jaws shut with large [[rubber band]]s cut from automobile [[tire|inner tube]]s.