How many of you have heard of the popular riddle, which came first, the chicken or the egg?
That's a tough one, isn't it?
You can't have a chicken without an egg, and you can't have an egg without a chicken.
Well, I came across another interesting question lately, and it goes like this.
Which came first, the alligator or the crocodile?
What do you think?
Do you think it was the crocodile or the alligator, or are they the same and evolved at the same time?
Luckily, this question is much easier to answer.
Are you ready?
The answer is the crocodile arrived on the evolutionary scene earlier than the alligator, actually 25 million years earlier.
Crocodile fossils have been discovered and dated to about 90 million years ago.
Alligators, however, only appeared on the planet around 65 million years ago.
But the alligator shouldn't feel too bad.
Both alligators and crocodiles are part of the crocodilian family, and this family tree dates back around 230 million years.
So basically, crocodiles are the older brother or sister to the alligators.
Maybe a good way to remember this fact is to think of the song, Crocodile Rock.
And this will make you think, crocodiles are as old as rocks.
So what are crocodilians?
They are predatory reptiles that live in water and on land.
And get this, they are the closest living relative to birds.
That's right, B-I-R-D-S.
But how is that possible?
One has wings and flies in the air.
The other has legs and swims underwater.
Talk about crazy cousins.
One looks nothing like the other, just like in our own families sometimes.
And the answer to this question is birds and crocodilians are the sole surviving species of a broader group of dinosaurs called archosaurs, which include pterosaurs or flying reptiles.
So it appears that many millions of years ago, one species decided to stay in the air with wings and the other decided to evolve on land and in water.
Kind of like one human cousin stating I prefer to live in Canada, love flying above the fall colors and the frosty, snow-capped mountains, and the other one stating I'm moving to South America to swim in warm water and sun in the sand.
If you look at pterosaur fossils in museums, you will find that they have big, rounded bills and long, thin tails like crocs or gators, shorter legs with claws and enjoyed a diet of small mammals, fish and other parasaurus.
A lot like their modern-day cousins.
But let's get back to crocodiles and alligators.
Aren't they the same?
They both swim in water, walk on land with webbed feet and have bony scales, long tails, sharp teeth and snapping jaws.
Well, yes, but they also have differences, too.
Just like you and I have upright bodies, teeth, and hair, we also have differences.
Crocodiles are bigger.
They can grow as long as 19 feet or 5.8 meters.
Alligators are smaller, reaching a maximum of 14 feet or 4.3 meters.
Yet again, the older sibling, the crocodile, beats the alligator.
But, to be fair, they both start off very small, as babies, when they are no bigger than a lizard and then grown into youngsters about the size of a cat.
It's hard to know how long they live, but it is believed crocodiles can live 50 to 70 years and alligators about 30 to 60 years.
And being a big crocodile means carrying a lot of weight from 800 to 2000 pounds, or 360 to 900 kilograms of scales, teeth and tail.
That is almost half a ton!
Alligators come in slightly smaller, ranging from 500 to 1,000 pounds, or 225 to 450 kilograms.
Either way, they are apex and mighty predators.
So now we know that crocodiles are older and bigger than alligators.
What other differences are there?
Their snouts or noses?
Crocodile snouts are longer and come to a rounded skinny point, while alligator snouts are shorter, broader and more rounded, like he had his nose punched in by a crocodile.
They have slightly different colors, too.
Crocodiles are different shades of brown and green, whereas alligators look dark green, gray or black.
And we can't forget those teeth!
Crocodiles are big and go after bigger prey, such as water buffalo cattle pigs zebra, monkeys and other large and juvenile mammals that sonar close to their watering holes.
Therefore, crocodile teeth have to be big, strong, pointy, and sharp.
You can see their teeth jutting out from the sides of their mouth in menacing smiles.
Freshwater alligators however, eat smaller prey such as fish, pigs and pets, and their bottom teeth are hidden inside their snouts.
They snatch and crush their meals with their rounded teeth and heavy jaws.
Crocodiles have massive biting power, up to 3700 pounds per square inch, whereas alligators chomp down at 2500 pounds.
You and I only have 120 to 160 pounds of biting power.
My tip is to stay away from both.
Now that we know some of their differences, what are their similarities?
Let's start with their habits.
Crocs and gators are generally nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night.
They hunt for food in the water by swinging their snouts left and right to detect motion.
Motion is detected by pressure receptors at the bottom of the scales around their mouth, similar to whiskers on our pets.
Both can make a mighty sound.
They can be heard bellowing or making deep rumbling sounds in their throats, maybe to indicate their size, status and power to other gators and crocs.
Their young tend to grunt or quack.
You can try to mimic them by blowing bubbles in a pool or bathtub while growling.
But be sure to have an adult nearby to add to the fun.
And both are cold-blooded, meaning they can't regulate their heat, so they enjoy sunning themselves on warm shores and often do mouth gaping, where they rest with their mouths hanging open to cool their insides, like our dogs do when they are panning while on a walk.
Once they get too hot, the crocs and gators return to the water.
And why do both have scales?
Well, for several reasons, including ease of movement, protection, and heat regulation.
The smooth scales on their bottom side help them glide quickly through the water, while the harder scales on their sides and top offer protection from other predators, plus stuff floating in the water.
The scales and bony knobs on the top are like mini solar panels and help absorb heat in and out of the water, while also offering protection.
Plus, the skin under their scales is flexible, allowing them to expand when breathing, eating and giving birth, just like human skin.
And both can breathe with their mouths open underwater.
They have special flaps along the inside of their snouts that stores air and keeps it separated from water coming into their mouths.
Pretty neat, huh?
Now that we know more about them and what they look like, where can we find them?
Crocodiles love dark, swampy water, both saltwater and freshwater, in rivers, streams and swamps in Africa India, Southeast Asia, Australia and parts of the Americas.
If they get too much salt in their system, they push it out through glands in their tongue.
Alligators prefer freshwater habitats, like lakes and rivers in the southern U.S. and China.
They love to hang out in the sun, once out of the water, even interrupting golf games and stopping traffic as they plod from place to place in sunny Florida.
And Florida is also the only location on Earth where both the alligator and the crocodile co-exist.
It's like ground zero for reptiles or croc-gate.
And speaking of hatchlings or offspring, another neat fact is that cooler temperatures tend to produce more female hatchlings and warmer temperatures produce more males.
And both species tend to have one litter a year of up to 40 eggs, which they hide in burrows on the banks of rivers and lakes.
So now we know a lot more about crocodiles and alligators and what makes them different and similar.
Aren't they amazing?
Have you ever seen a crocodile or alligator in the wild or in a zoo?
Do you have crocodilians where you live?
If so, where do you live and what types live by you?
There are 27 species of crocodiles, so I would be interested to hear from you and learn more about the ones in your area.
Feel free to click the link in the description box and send me your responses, and they may be featured on a future show.
