Why Are There No Crocodiles In The Amazon?

Why Are There No Crocodiles In The Amazon?

Crocodiles have been around for more than 60 million years. They existed during the time of the dinosaurs and were one of the few 4-legged animals over 25 kilograms to survive the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period that wiped out all of the non-avian dinosaurs.
Despite the resilience of the Crocodylus genus, they aren’t found everywhere on earth where you might expect to find them. One of those places is the Amazon River. Its habitat seems like the perfect place for many of the 18 species of crocodile but none of them permanently lives there.
Here we ask the question ‘Why are there no crocodiles in the Amazon?’

Other Related Videos:

The media shown in this video has been authorized for display either through permission from the copyright owner, fair use, or creative commons. If I have inadvertently failed to provide proper credit or if you prefer that your images not be featured here, kindly get in touch with me, and I will promptly offer attribution or remove them as per your request. A significant portion of the media showcased in this video falls under the protection of FAIR USE, serving purposes such as commentary, education, criticism, parody, and social satire.

#crocodiles #amazon #amazonrainforest

[metasuchus]

Black caimans "compete" with the American alligator in size, not Saltwater crocodiles. Orinoco crocodiles used to inhabit the area that is now the Amazon but it is suggested they went extinct in the region due to change in the habitat. Currently, the waters are inaccessible to the crocodiles further north for the most part.

[zygezcu]

I still don't know the answer after watching this

[barccy]

TL;DW : While most crocodiles prefer freshwater, the only ones that could make it to the Amazon prefer salinity, and the Caimans currently in the Amazon are already well adapted for the freshwater environment, with one detail being of especially notable importance - they are more resistant to diseases than crocodiles would be.

[yongjianyi]

There is the Orinoco crocodile in the Amazon river basins, and the crocodiles pre-date Africa. They originated on the supercontinent of Pangaea..

[Orangutan_Stella]

Not watched video as its title is wrong. There are several species of crocodiles that live in the amazon. The largest being the black caiman

[IbocC]

Moose and White Tailed Deer live together in the same regions here in Maine. Moose like to eat water plants, deer don't do that. So in regions with lots of large lakes, we still have plenty of Moose in spite of the deer. Although it does seem like there are a lot fewer of them than there were 30 years ago. The ticks were killing them off for a while. Now I think they are rebounding a little with the return of large fast hunting predators like our new coyote/wolf hybrids that seem to be really keen on avoiding humans but are large enough to take down our large local white tailed deer which the Does are usually 125 to 175 pounds.

[dylangeltzeiler]

Too True, but there are some True Crocodiles in South America. 2 species of them that are mostly in Venezuela, Columbia & Peru. Especially on some nearby Islands like Trinidad. The 2 True Crocodiles would be American Crocodiles & Orinoco Crocodiles.

[nicolassoriano]

To migrate from Peru to the amazon river, crocodiles would have to go through the andes mountain chain....

[alexhendrick]

Caiman closest relative is alligator not crocodile .

[aartamen]

The title is not misleading. There are no crocodiles in the Amazon river.

[duncanfeyd]

How can we definitively say they first came from anywhere specific when convergent evolution is a thing?

[thomashamilton]

And Crocs have the best immune systems and probably went extinct due to people

[toscadonna]

Alligatoridae like caiman and alligators handle cooler weather better than crocodiles do. I’d imagine it has to do with the weather that the crocodiles can’t deal with in the Amazon.

[rociopulido]

Next vid idea
Could Kangaroos survive in North America

[BluegrassKnight]

While I don't know the complete history and ancestry of crocodilians, however I do know about Earth's geologic and tectonic history, though admittedly I'm no expert, but I have to correct what was said about the continents being separated by "a series of unconnected islands", which is incorrect! The North and South American continents had completely separated and the Atlantic Ocean had fully formed by 66 million years ago, though the Atlantic wasn't as wide and both American continents weren't yet connected by the isthmus of Panama, which hadn't fully formed yet, in fact the world at a glance should look somewhat familiar by 66 million years ago!

[RayMoore-rwtt]

Video idea could sloths survive in Africa

[ericfaut]

Now that you're done with could coyotes survive in africa, can you please remake could prehistoric animals survive nowadays so you can add in smilodon, american lion, mammoth, thylacoleo, t-rex, dire wolf, short-faced bear, megatherium, and spinosaurus in alongside titanoboa, deinotherium, homotherium, megalodon, triceratops, and mastodon and title it Part 1? (Reply to my Comment ASAP Please)

[sth.jalenn]

don’t crocs prefer saltwater/brackish water habitats over fresh water? that probably explains why you don’t see them much.

[alexdeonversaagde]

My grandfather was a member of the military hunter regiment in the Guyanas. We have caimans. They are smaller than sea crocs. Had one hanging on my grandmas wall my when I was a kid.

[indyreno]

Actually, the Crocodylus genus is found only in Africa, all extant true crocodile species not found in Africa belong to four entirely different genera, all four of the crocodile species native to the new world being the north american crocodile, belize crocodile, cuban crocodile, and orinoco crocodile now constitute the genus Neosuchus with their scientific names now being Neosuchus acutus, Neosuchus moreletii, Neosuchus rhombifer, and Neosuchus intermedius respectively, both the freshwater and saltwater crocodiles now belong to the genus Thalassosuchus with their scientific names now being Thalassosuchus johnstoni and Thalassosuchus porosus respectively, the two species of crocodile native to New Guinea being the schmidt's crocodile and hall's crocodile now constitute the genus Nesosuchus with their scientific names now being Nesosuchus novaeguineae and Nesosuchus halli respectively, and all four of the crocodile species that are found only in Asia being the bornean crocodile, philippine crocodile, siamese crocodile, and mugger crocodile all now constitute the genus Tropicosuchus with their scientific names now being Tropicosuchus raninus, Tropicosuchus mindornensis, Tropicosuchus siamensis, and Tropicosuchus palustris respectively, the only two crocodile species in the Crocodylus genus are now the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and the Desert Ctocodile (Crocodylus geoffroyi), which therefore redefined Crocodylus as an exclusively African genus, there are fifteen extant genera of crocodilians, which also explains why the american alligator is the only extant species in the genus Alligator whereas the chinese alligator now belongs to the genus Caigator and why the broad-snouted caiman is the only extant species of the genus Caiman whereas both the spectacled caiman and yacare caiman now belong to the genus Jacaretinga.