THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Crocodylia    Crocodylidae  

American Crocodile
Crocodylus acutus Cuvier, 1807
KROH-koh-DIL-us — uh-KYOO-tus

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 7,065 Total; 511 Museum; 6,554 Other
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Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH. - (Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.12.46.07)
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Florida

Taxonomic Etymology:
A sharply featured crocodile with a name referencing its pointed snout.
Crocodylus — From Greek krokodilos (κροκόδειλος), originally used for lizards and crocodiles, probably from krokē (“pebble”) and drilos (“worm”), referring to how crocodiles were seen lying like pebbly worms on riverbanks.
acutus — From Latin acutus, meaning “sharp” or “pointed.” Refers to the crocodile’s relatively narrow, tapered snout compared to other Crocodylus species.

First instance(s) of published English names:
West Indian Crocodile (Crocodilus acutus: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Slender-muzzled Crocodile (Crocodilus acutus: Griffith, Edward and Edward Pidgeon. 1831. The class reptilia arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. Part 2. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London. 1-481pp.); American Crocodile (Crocodilus americanus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Floridan Crocodile (Crocodilus americanus: Davis, N. S. Jr. and Frank L. Rice. 1883. Descriptive catalogue of North American batrachia and reptilia, found east of Mississippi River. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 1(5):71); Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1807 Cuvier, Georges L. C. F. D. Sur les différentes especes de crocodiles vivans et sur leurs caracteres distinctifs. [On the different species of living crocodiles and their distinctive characteristics.]. Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. [Annals of the Natural History Museum, Paris.] 10(55/56):8-66
1923 Barbour, Thomas. The crocodile in Florida. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (131):1-6
1991 Menzies, R. A. and J. A. Kushlan. Genetic variation in populations of the American Crocodile. Journal of Herpetology 25(3):357-361
1999 Ernst, Carl H., Ross, Franklin D., and Ross, Charles A. Crocodylus acutus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (700):1-17
2000 Brochu, Christopher A. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence timing of Crocodylus based on morphology and the fossil record. Copeia 2000(3):657-673

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 27 July 2026 16:42 CT