Q 01/05

Which is the largest living species of crocodile, and the largest living reptile?

A) The Nile

B) The American

C) The saltwater

D) The Orinoco

Answer · why

C) The saltwater

Males can pass 6 metres and 1,000 kg; it ranges from India's east coast through Southeast Asia to northern Australia.

Q 02/05

Compared with an alligator's, a crocodile's snout is generally what shape?

A) U-shaped and broader

B) Perfectly square

C) V-shaped and narrower

D) Upturned like a spoon

Answer · why

C) V-shaped and narrower

The other giveaway is the teeth: a crocodile's lower teeth stay visible when the mouth is closed, whereas an alligator's tuck into pits in the upper j...

Q 03/05

Which lower crocodile tooth fits a notch in the upper jaw and shows when the mouth is shut?

A) The first

B) The fourth

C) The tenth

D) The last

Answer · why

B) The fourth

For hard-to-tell specimens, that protruding tooth is the most reliable way to decide whether you are looking at a crocodile or an alligator.

Q 04/05

The bony plates that armour a crocodile's back are called what?

A) Osteoderms

B) Scutellae

C) Dermal spines

D) Carapace plates

Answer · why

A) Osteoderms

They are richly supplied with blood, help the animal soak up heat and even bank calcium for eggshells.

Q 05/05

The Greek word that gave us 'crocodile' translates roughly as what?

A) River lizard

B) Water dragon

C) Armoured fish

D) Stones worm

Answer · why

D) Stones worm

It shows up in an Aesop's fable from the sixth century BC, and Pliny the Elder Latinised it as crocodilus.