NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Orinoco crocodile
Crocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a critically endangered crocodile which can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) in the past, weighing over 900 kg (2,000 lb), but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) being a more widely accepted maximum size. A large male today may attain 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) in length and can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb), while females are substantially smaller with the largest likely to weigh around 225 kg (496 lb). Sexual dimorphism is not as profound as in other crocodilian species. The coloration is light even in adults. The ecology of the Orinoco crocodile is poorly documented in the wild, mostly due to its small population.
Wikipedia contributors, Orinoco crocodile; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:37:53.739263+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Crocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819
- Name authority
- Graves, 1819
- Common name
- Orinoco crocodile
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Crocodylia
- Family
- Crocodylidae
- Genus
- Crocodylus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderCrocodylia
- familyCrocodylidae
- genusCrocodylus
- speciesCrocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Crocodylus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Hall’s New Guinea CrocodileCrocodylus halli Murray, Russo, Zorrilla & Mcmahan, 2019 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Freshwater CrocodileCrocodylus johnstoni Krefft, 1873 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| American crocodileCrocodylus acutus Cuvier, 1807 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Philippine crocodileCrocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| New Guinea crocodileCrocodylus novaeguineae Schmidt, 1928 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Marsh crocodileCrocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Siamese crocodileCrocodylus siamensis Schneider, 1801 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| West African crocodileCrocodylus suchus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1807 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Mecistops bathyrhynchus Cope, 1861 Cope, 1861 | synonym |
| Crocodilus journei Bory, 1824 Bory, 1824 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crocodylus&species=intermedius Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:ZKND. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.