New Exhibit on Crocs Opens at the American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History welcomes an exhibit with a snap: Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World at American Museum of Natural History. The exhibit gives a look into the world of archosaurs, a group that includes alligators and crocodiles as well as extinct dinosaurs and modern birds

There are also fossils and life-sized dioramas (one is of “Gomek,” who was the largest saltwater crocodile, who was nearly 18 feet and weighed almost 2,000 lbs!)  But what will really pique the little ones’ interests are the live crocodiles on display. There are Siamese crocs, some very active alligator hatchlings, a Western African Dwarf crocodile, and a Central African slender snouted crocodile (all behind glass.) The exhibit is also filled with interactive, informative stations where kids can learn “Croc speak,” how to distinguish a croc from an alligator, and more. The exhibit is curated by Dr. Mark Norell, AMNH’s Chair and Macaulay Curator, Division of Paleontology.

Crocodilians-that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials, have been around for some 200 million years. While many still perceive crocodilians as prehistoric, savage creatures they in fact, continue to gracefully adapt in the face of climate change and pollution, yielding myriad varieties in size and shape of the species around the world. They have a life expectancy between 60-80 years, reaching reproductive age around eight years old, says Evon Hekkala, Research Associate, Department of Herpetology.  Today, researchers are studying crocs’ blood. “They have an amazing ability to resist infection,” adds Hekkala-their blood contains antimicrobial peptides, that could be used to enhance human antibiotics.

While crocs may look like overgrown lizards, they actually belong to a group called archosaurs, that includes extinct dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and modern birds. Visitors can touch a display of an ancient marine crocodylomorph Steneosaurus bollensis, which lived until about 130 million years ago in what is now Europe. Also on display is a replica of a skull of one croc that grew to be 19 feet long, and lived between 13 and 6 million years ago on the east coast of the United States. 

So, how can one tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? Crocodiles generally have long, narrow snouts and show both their upper and lower teeth; alligators have shorter, broader snouts that are stronger and can easily crunch their prey; their lower teeth are concealed.

Crocs are fierce moms and dads, protecting and defending their nests and young, months after hatching. Unlike other crocs, gharials set up communal nurseries to watch their young, guarded by the females day and night. If there’s trouble, a dominant male comes to their aid. Sometimes the guarding male can ‘babysit’ to up to as many as 1,000 young, as they climb on his head and body.

Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World at American Museum of Natural History runs through Jan. 2, 2017. AMNH is open Monday through Sunday, 10am-5:45pm. For more information, visit amnh.org. 

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