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The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-
snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...
ed
crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant mem ...
, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, lakes, rivers and artificial ponds. It rarely reaches a body length of and is a powerful swimmer, but also walks on land in search of suitable waterbodies during the hot season. Both young and adult mugger crocodiles dig
burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of s ...
s to which they retreat when the ambient temperature drops below or exceeds . Females dig holes in the sand as nesting sites and lay up to 46
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s during the dry season. The sex of
hatchling In oviparous biology, a hatchling is a newly hatched fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. A group of mammals called monotremes lay eggs, and their young are hatchlings as well. Fish Fish hatchlings generally do not receive parental care, similar to ...
s depends on temperature during incubation. Both parents protect the young for up to one year. They feed on insects, and adults prey on fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. The mugger crocodile evolved at least and has been a symbol for the fructifying and destructive powers of the rivers since the
Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
. It was first scientifically described in 1831 and is protected by law in Iran, India and Sri Lanka. Since 1982, it has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Outside
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s, it is threatened by conversion of natural habitats, gets entangled in fishing nets and is killed in human–wildlife conflict situations and in traffic accidents.


Taxonomy and evolution

''Crocodilus palustris'' was the scientific name proposed by
René Lesson René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. H ...
in 1831 who described the
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...
from the Gangetic plains. In subsequent years, several naturalists and curators of natural history museums described zoological specimens and proposed different names, including: *''C. bombifrons'' by John Edward Gray in 1844 for a specimen sent by the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal to the
British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
. *''C. trigonops'' also by Gray in 1844 for a young mugger specimen from India.


Evolution

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
analysis of 23 crocodilian species indicated that the genus ''
Crocodylus ''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct spec ...
'' most likely originated in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
about . The freshwater crocodile (''C. johnstoni'') is thought to have been the first species that genetically diverged from the
common ancestor Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. All living beings are in fact descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal comm ...
of the genus about . The sister group comprising
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been liste ...
(''C. porosus''),
Siamese crocodile The Siamese crocodile (''Crocodylus siamensis'') is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered a ...
(''C. siamensis'') and mugger crocodile diverged about . The latter diverged from this group about . A
paleogenomics Paleogenomics is a field of science based on the reconstruction and analysis of genomic information in extinct species. Improved methods for the extraction of ancient DNA (aDNA) from museum artifacts, ice cores, archeological or paleontological site ...
analysis indicated that ''Crocodylus'' likely originated in Africa and radiated towards Southeast Asia and the Americas, diverging from its closest recent relative, the extinct ''
Voay ''Voay'' is an extinct genus of crocodile from Madagascar that lived during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, containing only one species, ''V. robustus''. Numerous subfossils have been found, including complete skulls, noted for their distincti ...
'' of Madagascar, around near the Oligocene/ Miocene boundary. Within ''Crocodylus'', the mugger crocodile's closest
living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * H ...
relatives are the Siamese crocodile and the saltwater crocodile. Fossil crocodile specimens excavated in the
Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...
closely resemble the mugger crocodile in the shortness of the premaxillae and in the form of the nasal openings. In
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
’s Prakasam district, a long fossilized skull of a mugger crocodile was found in a
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...
bed that probably dates to the late Pleistocene. ''
Crocodylus palaeindicus ''Crocodylus palaeindicus'' is an extinct species of crocodile from southern Asia. ''C. palaeindicus'' lived from the Miocene to the Pliocene. It may be an ancestor of the living Mugger crocodile. History ''C. palaeindicus'' was first named by S ...
'' from late Pliocene sediments in the Sivalik Hills is thought to be an
ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
of the mugger crocodile. Fossil remains of ''C. palaeindicus'' were also excavated in the vicinity of
Bagan Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
in central Myanmar. Below
cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...
is from a tip dating study, for which morphological, molecular DNA sequencing and
stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers ( strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostra ...
fossil age data were simultaneously used to establish the inter-relationships within
Crocodylidae Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant mem ...
. This cladogram was revised in a paleogenomics study.


Characteristics

Mugger crocodile hatchlings are pale olive with black spots. Adults are dark olive to grey or brown. The head is rough without any ridges and has large scutes around the neck that is well separated from the back. Scutes usually form four, rarely six longitudinal series and 16 or 17 transverse series. The limbs have
keeled scales Keeled scales refer to reptile scales that, rather than being smooth, have a ridge down the center that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale, Campbell, J. A., Lamar, W. W. (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithac ...
with
serrated Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...
fringes on outer edges, and outer toes are extensively webbed. The snout is slightly longer than broad with 19 upper teeth on each side. The
symphysis A symphysis (, pl. symphyses) is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint, specifically a secondary cartilaginous joint. # A symphysis is an amphiarthrosis, a slightly movable joint. # A growing together ...
of the lower jaw extends to the level of the fourth or fifth tooth. The
premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has ...
ry
suture Suture, literally meaning "seam", may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Suture'' (album), a 2000 album by American Industrial rock band Chemlab * ''Suture'' (film), a 1993 film directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel * Suture (ban ...
on the
palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sepa ...
is nearly straight or curved forwards, and the nasal bones separate the premaxilla above. The mugger crocodile is considered a medium-sized crocodilian, but has the broadest
snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...
among
living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * H ...
crocodiles. It has a powerful tail and webbed feet. Its
visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight ...
,
hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditor ...
and
smelling The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...
senses are acute. Adult female muggers are on average, and male muggers measure between . They rarely grow up to . A sample of adult mugger crocodiles from southern India weighed about on average. Large males are reported to weigh up to . The largest known muggers measured . The largest zoological specimen in the
British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
measures . One male mugger caught in Pakistan of about weighed . One individual weighing had a
bite force Bite force quotient (BFQ) is a numerical value commonly used to represent the bite force of an animal, while also taking factors like the animal's size into account. The BFQ is calculated as the regression of the quotient of an animal's bite f ...
of .


Distribution and habitat

The mugger crocodile occurs in southern Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka up to an elevation of . It inhabits freshwater lakes, rivers and marshes, and prefers slow-moving, shallow water bodies. It also thrives in artificial reservoirs and irrigation
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...
s. In Iran, the mugger occurs along rivers in Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces along the
Iran–Pakistan border The Iran–Pakistan border (; ) is the international boundary that separates Iran and Pakistan. It demarcates the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan from the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is in length. Description The borde ...
. A population of around 200 mugger crocodiles lives on the Iranian Makran coast near
Chabahar Chābahār ( fa, چابهار, bal, چھبار, čahbàr; ; formerly ''Bandar Beheshtī'') is the capital city of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. It is a free port (free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf of ...
. Due to human activity and a long drought in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it had been pushed to the brink of extinction. Following several
tropical cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
in 2007 and 2010, much of the habitat of the mugger crocodiles has been restored as formerly dry lakes and
hamun A hamun (or hamoun) ( fa, هامون ''hāmūn'') refers to inland desert lakes or marshlands, formed as natural seasonal reservoirs in areas adjoining the Helmand basin, found across eastern Iran, southern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. They ...
s were flooded again. In Pakistan, a small population lives in 21 ponds around
Dasht River The Dasht River ( ur, ) is located in the Makran region and Gwadar District, in the southwestern section of Balochistan Province, Pakistan which drains near Jiwani. Tributaries The Kech River which (maxime) flows through Kech valley is the eas ...
; in the winter of 2007–08, 99 individuals were counted. By 2017, the population had declined to 25 individuals. In
Sindh Province Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, small mugger populations occur in wetlands of Deh Akro 2 and Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuaries, near
Chotiari Dam Chotiari Dam ( ur, ) is an artificial water reservoir situated 35 km away from the Sanghar town in Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Its construction was completed in December 2002, at the total cost of Rs 6 billion. The main purpose of cons ...
, in the
Nara Canal The Nara Canal is a deepened delta channel of the Indus River in Sindh province, Pakistan. It was built as an excavated channel stemming off the left bank of the Indus River to join the course of the old Nara River, a tributary c.q. paleochannel ...
and around Haleji lake. In Nepal's
Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna ...
, it occurs in the wetlands of Shuklaphanta and
Bardia National Park ; , iucn_category = II , photo = Bardiya_02.jpg , photo_caption = , photo_alt= , map_image = , map_caption = Location in Nepal , location = Nepal , map = Nepal , relief = 1 , coordinates = , area_km2 = 968 , established = 1988 , gov ...
s, Ghodaghodi Tal,
Chitwan National Park , iucn_category = II , location = Central Terai of Nepal , established = 1973 , nearest_city = Bharatpur , map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#India#South Asia , relief = 1 , label = Chitwan National Park , label_position = top , coordina ...
and
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of eastern Nepal covering of wetlands in the Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur Districts. It comprises extensive reed beds and freshwater marshes in the floodplain of the Kosi ...
. In India, it occurs in: * Rajasthan along the Chambal,
Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
and
Son River Son River ( hi, सोन नदी, also spelt Sone River) is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district of Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges River near Pa ...
s, and in
Ranthambore National Park Ranthambore National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India, with an area of . It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the pa ...
* Gujarat along the
Vishwamitri River Originating from Pavagadh in the Panchmahal District of Gujarat, the Vishwamitri River flows mainly through the west of the city of Vadodara. The name of this river is said to have been derived from the name of the great saint Vishwamitra. Two ...
and several reservoirs and lakes in Kutch * Madhya Pradesh's
National Chambal Sanctuary National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a tri-state protected area in northern India for the protection of the Critically Endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the Endangered ...
* Uttarakhand's
Rajaji National Park Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park and tiger reserve that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 km2 and includes three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Ga ...
, Corbett Tiger Reserve and Lansdowne Forest Division *Uttar Pradesh's Katarniaghat and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuaries *Odisha's
Simlipal National Park Simlipal is a tiger reserve in the Mayurbhanj district in the Indian state of Odisha covering . It is part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes three protected areas — Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary with a ...
and along
Mahanadi The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay ...
and
Sabari River Sabari River is one of the main tributaries of Godavari. It originates from the western slopes of Eastern Ghats in Odisha state from Sinkaram hill ranges at 1370 m MSL. It is also known as Kolab river in Odisha.The Sabari river basin receives ...
s In 2019, 82 individuals were recorded in the river systems of Simlipal National Park. *Telangana's Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary * Maharashtra's Kadavi and Warna Rivers, and
Savitri River Savitri River is one of the 5 rivers which originate from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra state in India.It originates at Savitri point near Mahabaleshwar and flows through the bankot village and directly goes to Arabian sea Raigad district an ...
in Raigad District. *Goa's Salaulim Reservoir,
Zuari River The Zuari River ''Zuvari,'' pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It f ...
and in small lakes *Karnataka along
Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...
and
Kabini River The Kabini River is one of the major tributaries of the river Cauvery in southern India. It originates near Kavilumpara in Kozhikode district of Kerala state by the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River. It flows east ...
s, in the Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary,
Nagarhole National Park Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India. This park was declared the 37th Tiger Reserve of India in 1999. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats Ni ...
and Tungabhadra Reservoir *Kerala's Parambikulam Reservoir and
Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary The Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the southern state of Kerala in India is spread over the southeast corner of the Western Ghats, and covers a total area of . It is located between 77° 8’ to 77° 17’ east longitude and 8° 29’ to 8° 3 ...
*Tamil Nadu's Amaravathi Reservoir,
Moyar Moyar is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Mark Moyar (born 1971), Senior Advisor at the US Agency for International Development * Dean Moyar Dean Moyar is an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins ...
and
Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...
rivers. In Sri Lanka, it occurs in Wilpattu, Yala and Bundala National Parks. Between 1991 and 1996, it was recorded in another 102 localities. In
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, it was historically present in the northern parts of the Sundarbans, where four to five captive individuals survived in an artificial pond by the 1980s. It is possibly
locally extinct Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
in the country. In
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
, it became extinct in the late 1960s, but a few captive-bred individuals were released in the Manas River in the late 1990s. It is considered locally extinct in Myanmar.


Behaviour and ecology

The mugger crocodile is a powerful swimmer that uses its tail and hind feet to move forward, change direction and submerge. It belly-walks, with its belly touching ground, at the bottom of waterbodies and on land. During the hot dry season, it walks over land at night to find suitable wetlands and spends most of the day submerged in water. During the cold season it basks on riverbanks, individuals are tolerant of others during this period. Territorial behaviour increases during the mating season. Like all crocodilians, the mugger crocodile is a
thermoconformer Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...
and has an optimal body temperature of and risks dying of freezing or hyperthermia when exposed to temperatures below or above , respectively. It digs burrows to retreat from extreme temperatures and other harsh climatic conditions. Burrows are between deep, with entrances above the water level and a chamber at the end that is big enough to allow the mugger to turn around. Temperatures inside remains constant at , depending on region.


Hunting and diet

The mugger crocodile preys on fish, snakes, turtles, birds and mammals including monkeys, squirrels, rodents,
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...
s and
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...
s. It also scavenges on dead animals. During dry seasons, muggers walk many kilometers over land in search of water and prey. Hatchlings feed mainly on insects such as
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, but also on
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s and shrimp and on vertebrates later on. It seizes and drags potential prey approaching watersides into the water, when the opportunity arises. Adult muggers were observed feeding on a flapshell turtle and a tortoise. Subadult and adult muggers favour fish, but also prey on small to medium-sized
ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, c ...
s up to the size of
chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...
(''Axis axis''). In Bardia National Park, a mugger was observed caching a chital kill beneath the roots of a tree and returning to its basking site. A part of the deer was still wedged among the roots on the next day. Muggers have also been observed while preying and feeding on a
python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pr ...
. At the Chambal River, muggers have attacked water buffaloes,
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
and goats. In Yala National Park, a mugger was observed killing a large
Indian pangolin The Indian pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata''), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. The colo ...
(''Manis crassicaudata''), of which it devoured pieces over several hours.


Tool use

Mugger crocodiles have been documented using lures to hunt birds. This means they are among the first reptiles recorded to use tools. By balancing sticks and branches on their heads, they lure birds that are looking for nesting material. This strategy is particularly effective during the nesting season.


Reproduction

Female muggers obtain
sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definitio ...
at a body length of around at the age of about 6.5 years, and males at around body length. The reproduction cycle starts earliest in November at the onset of the cold season with courtship and mating. Between February and June, females dig deep holes for nesting between away from the waterside. They lay up to two
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
es with 8 –46 eggs each. Eggs weigh on average. Laying of one clutch usually takes less than half an hour. Thereafter, females scrape sand over the nest to close it. Males have been observed to assist females in digging and protecting nest sites. Hatching season is two months later, between April and June in south India, and in Sri Lanka between August and September. Then females excavate the young, pick them up in their snouts and take them to the water. Both females and males protect the young for up to one year. Healthy hatchlings develop at a temperature range of . Sex ratio of hatched eggs depends on incubation temperature and exposure of nests to sunshine. Only females develop at constant temperatures of , and only males at . Percentage of females in a clutch decreases at constant temperatures between , and of males between . Temperature in natural nests is not constant but varies between nights and days. Foremost females hatch in natural early nests when initial temperature inside nests ranges between . The percentage of male hatchlings increases in late nests located in sunny sites. Hatchlings are long and weigh on average when one month old. They grow about per month and reach a body length of when two years old.


Sympatric predators

The distribution of the mugger crocodile overlaps with that of the saltwater crocodile in a few coastal areas, but it barely enters
brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
and prefers shallow waterways. It is an
apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...
in freshwater ecosystems. It is
sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...
with the gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus'') in the Rapti and
Narayani River Narayani may refer to: * Narayani (deity), another name for Lakshmi * Narayani, an epithet of Yogamaya * Narayani River, or Gandaki River, in Nepal * Narayani Temple, in Narayani village, near Khalikote, Odisha, India * Narayani Zone Narayani ...
s, in the eastern Mahanadi, and in
tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the Ganges and
Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...
rivers. The
Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
(''Panthera tigris tigris'') occasionally fights mugger crocodiles off prey and rarely preys on adult mugger crocodiles in Ranthambore National Park. The
Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of ''Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat ...
(''Panthera leo leo'') can sometimes prey on crocodiles on the banks of the
Kamleshwar Dam The Kamleshwar Dam, officially known as the "Hiran-I Dam", is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Hiran River in Visavadar, Gujarat State, India. Measuring , the dam is located within the Gir Forest National Park and was completed in 1959 for irrig ...
in
Gir National Park Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It is located north-east of Somnath, south-east of Junagadh and south-west of Amreli ...
during dry, hot months.


Threats

The mugger crocodile is threatened by habitat destruction because of conversion of natural habitats for agricultural and industrial use. As humans encroach into its habitat, the incidents of conflict increase. Muggers are entangled in fishing equipment and drown, and are killed in areas where fishermen perceive them as competition. Major wetlands in Pakistan were drained in the 1990s by dams and channels to funnel natural streams and
agricultural runoff Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pol ...
s into rivers. In Gujarat, two muggers were found killed, one in 2015 with the tail cut off and internal organs missing; the other in 2017, also with the tail cut off. The missing body parts indicate that the crocodiles were sacrificed in superstitious practices or used as
aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...
s. Between 2005 and 2018, 38 mugger crocodiles were victims of traffic accidents on roads and railway tracks in Gujarat; 29 were found dead, four died during treatment, and five were returned to the wild after medical care. In 2017, a dead mugger was found on a railway track in Rajasthan.


Conservation

The mugger crocodile is listed in
CITES Appendix I CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
, hence international commercial trade is prohibited. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1982. By 2013, less than 8,700 mature individuals were estimated to live in the wild and no population unit to comprise more than 1,000 individuals. In India, it has been protected since 1972 under Schedule I of the
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...
, which prohibits catching, killing and transporting a crocodile without a permit; offenders face imprisonment and a fine. In Sri Lanka, it was listed in Schedule IV of the Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance in 1946, which allowed for shooting one crocodile with a permit. Today, it is strictly protected, but law enforcement in Sri Lanka is lacking. In Iran, the mugger crocodile is listed as endangered and has been legally protected since 2013; capturing and killing a crocodile is punished with a fine of 100 million Iranian rials. Since large muggers occasionally take livestock, this leads to conflict with local people living close to mugger habitat. In Maharashtra, local people are compensated for loss of close relatives and livestock. Local people in Baluchestan respect the mugger crocodile as a water living creature and do not harm it. If an individual kills livestock, the owner is compensated for the loss. The mugger crocodile is translocated in severe conflict cases. A total of 1,193 captive bred muggers were released to restock populations in 28 protected areas in India between 1978 and 1992. Production of new offspring was halted by the Indian Government in 1994.


In culture

The Sanskrit word मकर '
makara ''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...
' refers to the crocodile and a mythical crocodile-like animal. The Hindi word for crocodile is मगर 'magar'. In English language, both names 'mugger' and 'magar' were used around the turn of the 20th century. The names 'marsh crocodile' and 'broad-snouted crocodile' have been used since the late 1930s. The crocodile is acknowledged as the prototype of the makara and symbolises both the fructifying and the destructive powers of the rivers. It is the
animal vehicle ''Animal Vehicle'' is the third studio album by Australian comedy band The Axis of Awesome, released on 12 July 2011. Track listing Personnel *Jordan Raskopoulos – vocals *Lee Naimo – guitar, vocals *Benny Davis – keyboard Keyboard may r ...
of the
Vedic deity Rigvedic deities are deities mentioned in the sacred texts of Rigveda, the principal text of the historical Vedic religion of the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). There are 1,028 hymns (sūkta) in the Rigveda. Most of these hymns are dedicated to ...
Varuna and of several nature spirits called yakshas. In Hindu mythology, it represents
virility Virility (from the Latin ''virilitas'', manhood or virility, derived from Latin ''vir'', man) refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively. Virile means "marked by strength or force". Virility is commonly associ ...
as a vehicle of Ganga and as an emblem of Kamadeva. A stone carving of a mugger crocodile was part of a beam of a gateway to the Bharhut Stupa built around 100 BC. The traditional biography of the Indian saint
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
includes an incident where he is grabbed by a crocodile in the Kaladi river, which releases him only after his mother reluctantly let him choose the ascetic path of a Sannyasa. The Muslim saint Pīr Mango is said to have taken care of crocodiles and created a stream to trickle out of a rock near Karachi in the 13th century. This place was later walled around, and about 40 mugger crocodiles were kept in the reservoir called Magar Talao in the 1870s; they were fed by both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims. Mugger crocodiles have also been kept in tanks near Hindu temples built in the vicinity of rivers; these crocodiles are considered sacred. In the early 20th century, young married women fed the crocodiles in Khan Jahan Ali's Tank in Jessore in the hope of being blessed with children. Vasava,
Gamit The Gamit are Adivasi, or indigenous Bhil people of Gujarat, India. They are mainly found in Tapi, Surat, Dang, Bharuch, Valsad and Navsari districts of Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra. They are included in state list of scheduled tribes. ...
and Chodhri
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
s in Gujarat
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
the crocodile god Mogra Dev asking for children, good crops and milk yield of their cows. They carve wooden statues symbolising Mogra Dev and mount them on poles. Their offerings during the installation
ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...
include rice, milk, wine, heart and liver of a chicken, and a mixture of
vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is ...
,
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
and
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
fibres. Fatal attacks of mugger crocodiles on humans were documented in Gujarat and Maharasthra, but they rarely consumed the victims who died of drowning. A fable from the Jataka tales of Buddhist traditions features a clever monkey outwitting a crocodile. Three folktales feature crocodiles and
jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
s. A mugger crocodile is one of the characters in ''The Undertakers'', a chapter of '' The Second Jungle Book''. The children’s book ''Adventures of a Nepali Frog'' features the character Mugger, the crocodile who lives by the Rapti River in Chitwan National Park.


See also

* Crocodiles in India * List of reptiles of South Asia


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mugger Crocodile Apex predators Crocodylidae Fauna of South Asia Reptiles of Iran Reptiles of Pakistan Reptiles of India Reptiles of Nepal Reptiles of Sri Lanka National symbols of Pakistan Tool-using animals Reptiles described in 1831 Taxa named by René Lesson Crocodilians of Asia