Site of the Week
Crocodilian.com
http://www.crocodilian.com
Some of them are enormous, they all have a lot of teeth, and most people aren’t particularly keen on meeting them up close. Thankfully, though, this website is here so you don’t have to get intimate with crocodilians to know all about them.
There’s more kinds of crocodile and alligator in the world than you might have realised, and there are other groups too - caimans and gharials. But you can rapidly fill gaps in your reptilian knowledge, as I did, by going through the site’s list of all 23 crocodilian species. Click on a croc and you’ll get background information and a good collection of pictures, each with an explanation of what you’re looking at.
The Biology Database section is packed with more general reading on crocodilian evolution, morphology, and behaviour, again accompanied by more top quality photos. The FAQ (frequently asked questions) section will bring you up to speed on key points like the differences between crocodiles and alligators, and (perhaps more importantly if you were to meet one) how fast they can run. And there’s a separate FAQ for people interested in keeping crocodilians as pets - but if you want answers to queries like “how can I make it let go of my head?” you should have thought of that before.
Also worth visiting is the communication section, which has a collection of sound files of various species’ calls. Crocodilians are more vocal than most reptiles, and here you can read about the biology behind their hisses and coughs, then hear the strange noises for yourself. And if you’re after even more info, pictures movies and sounds, the links section is vast, so that one way or another everything ‘gator-related is catering for.
Richard Northover
Info-content *** Readability *** Appearance *** User friendliness ** Kids ** Plugins a sound player