Crocodilian Family

Such fascinating creatures that oft turn many of our perceptions of reptilian behaviors upon their ear. Some raise and rear their young, caring for them deeply, others in extreme environments defy all expectation of their cold blooded nature, able to go to ground for weeks or months if water is scarce, literally burying themselves. Still more have surprised researchers, for just when we we sure that they were semi-aquatic, freshwater animals, the discovery and subsequent studies of Salt-Spine Crocodiles threw that whole percieved understanding out the window. In truth we are still expanding our understanding of this diverse and strange family of animals, and their ancient past and origins, for though the sizes have changed slowly over time, the general physical form, shape, jaw structure, and presumably habitats and hunting habits by extension, have not changed much at all. Crocodilians survived the Sundering, the Shattering and perhaps even other more ancient mass extinction events. They are perhaps the most resilient of animal families on Valerick by token of this, surviving and thriving with little to no real identifiable evolutionary changes besides growing less large. They are an absolute delight to study for all these reasons and more, and I cannot wait to delve even further into this magnificent family over the coming months tracking and observing Salt-Spines amongst the Kang-Chorathian coast and islands.

Naturalist Teagan Alexanderia Phillips, a human biologist, who's studies focused predominantly on reptiles, in the foreward of his most well known work, Crocodilians, Nature's Scaly Time Capsules.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Though their sizes may vary noticeably, and a variety of qualities may show somewhat unique adaptation based on region that gives some species within this family their names, by and large the crocodilian family all share the same notable qualities with define them. They are robust, low slung quadreped reptiles with thick protective scales covering most every inch of their bodies except for their bellies. Their legs are low set, with the lizard like elbowed shape, splaying them alongside the body in a way that looks awkward when on land. Their jaws, though they may vary some in length, shape or width, are always an elongated snout, with powerful muscular structures all throughout meant to help them bite down with tremendously violent force. Their tails are always long, robust and muscular, a key aspect of their propulsion when swimming. All crocodilians are technically classified as semi-aquatic creatures, but will spent most of their lives in water. Many species can hold their breath in excess of two hours comfortably.

Biological Traits

Though it is impressive how similiar the various members of this family truly are, physically, there do exist some unique adaptations, such as coloration or snout shape. Coloration is normally dictated by the surrounding ecology, roughly mottling and matching the water, riverbed, shoreline and undergrowth. The exception to this of course is the Salt-Spine, the largest modern member of this family. The extruded white-grey scales that run down the center of its back down its back giving it the name, though it is unknown what purpose, perhaps besides display, like a show of health or maturity, this back ridge really supplies. It is noted that those scales can be ground up into a unique spice, a powder that is not unlike sea salt, but with a hint of burnt wood and sweet kelp notes, and though it is a unique and acquired taste, many in Kang-Chorath love the flavor.

The most telling differences between the various subspecies, and between crocodiles, the names sake of the family, and alligators, is snout shape. Alligators are more wide, robust and deep, with less length, generally, and a more rounded blunted tip to them. Crocodiles, caimans and other members however have longer snouts that end in a more pointed design with a tapered shape, and are less robust in width. The various shapes can tell you even more however. The Shovel-Snout Crocodile is a prime example of this, having a snout that has a wider profile than many crocodiles, though tapering to a narrower point marking it as a crocodile not an alligator. This is because the species live all about the Susmain plains and desert in oases, river systems and lakes that are heavily affected by a harsh seasonal transition and can sometimes partially or fully dry out. These creatures seem to be able to tell when this is going to occur and can burrow down into the mud when water is still present, fully encasing themselves, entombing themselves, and entering into a sort of torpor. They are able to do this in part due to their broader shovel like snout. They can survive this way for as long as four months if need be, and since they won't be driven to do so generally until quite late in the dry season, this normally will buy them the time they need for the rains to come and the waters to replenish and return.

Genetics and Reproduction

The crocodilian family has some of the most notable sexual dymorphism seen in almost any species anywhere, with some species within the family, such as the Salt-Spine crocodile, seeing males get up near twice as long and up to four or five times as heavy as females of similar age and success. This is likely due to the flipped script nature of these species, where males generally have a wider home range, a territory that might encompass the territory of several females of his species. Very often in most other animals and types if this sort of hareming behavior exists, the animals form a group, a social structure, such as lions for example. Croodilians do not do this, and are known to be heavily territorial.

Growth Rate & Stages

Truth be told, Crocodilians are unique animals to our understanding in the field. They seem to grow potentially continuously all throughout their lives, provided they have enough access to enough food to sustain themselves, and they seem to not suffer aging like most any mammal or bird, or even like many fellow reptiles or amphibians. They do not seem to suffer breaking down, muscular deterioration or any other such effects even at advanced ages. Aging crocodilians without year over year tracking, or keeping captive specimens, is challenging of course due to this. It is estimated however that specimens exist in the wild that may be north of a century old in some places. That being said, though the muscular and skeletal structures do not seem to decay with age, their sight, hearing and sense of smell do seemingly, with old crocodiles of various species having been found with notable clouding and whitening within their eyes, indicating growing blindness. It is therefore likely that at some point their senses fail them to a point they are either predated upon by younger specimens, or die of starvation.

Because of this, there are not really many clear and defined stages beyond hatchling and sexual maturity amongst crocodilians, and those vary based on species and the transition seems not triggered by passage of time as much as growth based on available food. Some species are capable of quite rapid growth, hatching to be barely under 1 foot in length, but within two years easily being close to length of equal to the height of an adult human, if the food is available to allow such a growth spurt. Most commonly however it is more gradual and the bulk fills out on pace with length. Sexual maturity is most commonly reached in 3-6 years depending on the species, though it is notable that those members of this family that rear their young only do so for the first year. After which the mother is just as likely to eat them as any other member of their species. The babies have an inbuilt sense of this timing however and will have long since left the mother before she loses those motherly instincts.

Ecology and Habitats

Crocodilians obviously, being a mostly aquatic species and predator, prefer wet environments, such as riverlands, swamps, lakes, marshes and estuaries. They range from warm temperate to hot tropics for temperature, not handling cooler temperatures, or anything resembling a snowy or icy winter well at all. As such you will find no crocodilians of any kind on the continent of Durol anymore, though fossilized remains do indicate at one time, perhaps only a few millenia ago, during the tail end of the Shattering, the climates of Raechin and Depenwood's southernmost regions were more welcoming to such creatures, their remains found in old river and lake bed formations from time to time, mostly skulls and teeth.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Crocodilians, across the board, are obligate carnivores. Now this should not be confused dear reader, with being a creature that ONLY eats meat. This is a common misconception, and if one were to check the contents of any crocodilian's stomach upon its death, if they had this expectation they might be surprised. It has been well documented that most crocodilians are not opposed to nabbing up certain types of vegetation, like gourd vegetables that grow near water sources on occassion, or larger fruits that can grow near rivers or bodies of water. However they cannot survive off of such a diet, it is merely likely about a bit of extra fibre, or like many humanoids, having a bit of a sweet-tooth that causes this behavior. However without meat, crocodilians do not live very long at all, and though they will last longer than say any feline or mammalian obligate carnivore simply due to their reptilian nature, they will eventually get very sick and die without meat.

Most crocodilians are also not picky about age or level of decay in their meals, being just as willing to feast on a week old carcass amidst the swampy shallows as they are a fresh kill, and seem unbothered by the experience. They are also known for being true examples of a generalist and opportunistic hunter, willing to take any animal, be it fish, mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile, or even some other creatures of a less...natural nature. This also includes humanoids, as we are mammals. Combine this with their noted stubborness and you might see how some horror stories about such creatures come to exist, though it is unreasonable to present those stories with the idea that the creature is doing this on purpose or with any ill intent or malice. The truth is generally far simpler, and arguably far more terrifying to consider, which is that we aren't special, and to members of this family, like any other animal in their domain they believe they can catch, kill and tear apart, we are just a meal.

Behaviour

Crocodilians exhibit some interesting and unique behavior when it comes to their eggs and young, that is the females specifically. Though all crocodilians are quite willing cannibals in most aspects of life, seeing no difference in a juvenile of their species versus a lizard or some other such creature, this is not entirely true of mothers. After laying their eggs, either in a carefully dug out and buried nest on a riverside or secluded pond bank, or perhaps in a mount of dead vegetation and sand, she will fast for potentially up to six weeks, guarding the nest, and perhaps hunting one time, briefly, to get just enough food to survive another six weeks until the eggs hatch. From there she will hunt voraciously along that stretch of water, however she won't target the babies and will protect them with ferocity that would make a mother grizzly bear impressed. She will hunt so voraciously because atypically, she will not consume the kills as wholly as normal. Normally crocodilians will use their jaws and a technique known as 'death-rolling' to tear large hunks, bones and all, off prey items and simply swallow those pieces more or less whole. They will generally consume the whole prey item this way, or for smaller prey they may even swallow it whole.

A mother crocodilian however, will be a bit daintier with her meals, leaving the softer bits, the underbelly and lower torso for example, for her babies, merely ripping off limbs and maybe the head. This gives the young a large sized chunk of nutrient dense flesh and fat with high nutrient organ meats as well, to practice and grow with safely, as they instinctually learn to twist, tear and even roll to split off bite sized pieces of flesh. Furthermore very quickly they will learn to hunt smaller fish and crustaceans as well. However over time the mother will eat more and more of any prey item she catches, leaving less and less for the babies even as they have grown bigger and more capable. Before she loses that motherly instinct entirely, some instinctual response will generally drive the young away, now grown bigger, more capable and having learned how to hunt, they are ready to face the wider world. Some cannibalism between siblings is also common at this stage, and the mother will do little to nothing about that the whole year or so this phase of life goes on. Occassionally a few of the young from the clutch, which can number up to a hundred, might not leave in time. Likely runts of the clutch, or simply lacking some evolutionary driver that would insure their survival, once the mother stops leaving food from prey items for the hatchlings, it is not long until she becomes just another potential predator. On those occassions where that instinct to leave does not kick in swiftly enough, the mother will make short and swift work of hunting down and eating those few whom did not leave.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Crocodilian meat is a cultural delicacy in many places and the skin and hide of such creatures is a heavily traded good, making tough and durable leathers and even being quite a durable and comfortable material to craft armors and protective or water resistant goods out of. Beyond this, there do exist a variety of superstitions about scales and teeth, powdering them and using them in a wide variety of alchemical 'fools goods' that are mostly harmless and for the most part don't actually accomplish anything, The ridge scales of the Salt-Spine Crocodile can be used to make a unique spice, and the bioluminscent scales of the Moonlight Alligator are oft decorative goods in a variety of special garments and tapestries amongst Valewyrian culture, generally for anything that will have a chance to be seen in moonlight. Sadly this last note is in part why Moonlight Alligators are so rare now, they are highly endangered.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Though not found on the continent of Durol, the various species, some 6-10 being our best classification at current time, can be found all across Wyriel and Gavis-Lune, succeeding anywhere they can find even semi-consistent permanent bodies of water and ample prey.

Average Intelligence

For the longest time, as is common with reptiles for sapient humanoids, we attributed strangeness to a lack of intellect. However time and again we are proven wrong. These predators are quite smart and capable creatures, able to plan skillful ambushes, and exhibit complex behaviors we would normally not associate to such animals, such as females building/digging and burying multiple false nests near their real one, rubbing the excreted fluids from the egg laying process over these to insure they horomonal scents that linger to draw predators to her eggs will be present for some weeks at least, on those false nests, raising her clutch's chances. Now these behaviors might be evolutionarily driven, and likely are, however some studies suggest, from ancedotal evidence and observation, that females might come up with this and develop this behavior from the experience of cannibalizing another female's clutch. If that were to ever be proven true in more concrete and compelling ways, the implications of it would be astounding for other behaviors seen within this family.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Crocodilians actually have impressive senstivity of smell, sight and hearing, seeming to have adaptations for these senses to work both above and below water, though it is not fully understood how. They also seem to additionally have a sensitivity to motion wtihin water, feeling the shifting of the water around them perhaps no different to how a mole or badger might feel movement in soil near them.

Crocodilian Family Base Stat Sheet (protrays a Sharp-Nose Crocodile, which is a pretty typical mid sized species)

Scientific Name

Crocodilia

Lifespan

Currently it is estimated that 80-100 years is common dependent on species, but it is worthy of note that dating and aging crocodilians is a difficult and inexact process.

Average Height

Crocodilians are low slung creatures, and rarely exceed more than 18-24" (45-60 cms) in height when standing, with some being notably shorter.

Average Weight

The range of things like weight and length vary massively based on which species in particular we are talking about. The smallest species known, the Moonstone Alligator, a very rare species that inhabits rivers in eastern and central Valewyr get to weigh a mere 100-200 lbs (45-90 kgs) whereas on the other side of the spectrum, the modern members of this family, the largest species, the Salt-Spine Crocodile, which lives and hunts in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters and lakes all about south-southwestern Kang-Chorath and Susma can weigh anywhere from 165-2425 lbs (76-1100 kgs), with males dominating the upper 3/4s of that scale, and females only really capping out at around 220 lbs (100 kgs). Other species inhabit spaces all across and in between these ranges.

Average Length

Once again, much like weight, length can vary wildly based on which species of the family we are discussing. For example the smallest member, the Moonstone Alligator, has been found at ranges as small as 4' (1.2 meters) to as long as 8' (2.4 meters) in the largest recorded specimens. By stark contrast the Salt-Spine crocodile ranges wildly, once again due to their extreme sexual dimorphism, with adults ranging from as short as 7'6" (2.3 meters) to as long as 23' (7 meters) for the largest recorded specimen, though once again, males occupy the upper nearly three quarters or more of this size range, females seeming to top out at just under 10' (3 meters)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Though mostly dappled dull greens, browns, greys and other earthy such tones, there do exist a couple of unique exceptions. One previously discussed is the ridge scales of the Salt-Spine Crocodile, however those are not the most unique or impressive. That title goes to the Moonlight Alligator, a species that have a n odd speckled bioluminscence that seems to be triggered when exposed to moonlight to their scales which gifts them their name. This glow is not uniform, and only seems to be a small percentage of the scales, the rest of which are very dark in tone, and from a distance or in cloudy water, so long as the alligator is moving its body around a bit slowly, these glows and sparkles could be confused for the scales of fish, a shoal of small river fish of one sort or another. This alligator is a nocturnal hunter, seeming to have this adaptation to draw in foolish creatures like herons, crustceans and small or moderate size mammals like crag otters, to eat.