NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
New Guinea crocodile
Crocodylus novaeguineae Schmidt, 1928
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 New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae) is a small species of crocodile found on the island of New Guinea north of the mountain ridge that runs along the centre of the island. The population found south of the mountain ridge, formerly considered a genetically distinct population, is now considered a distinct species, Hall's New Guinea crocodile (C. halli). In the past it included the Philippine crocodile, C. n. mindorensis, as a subspecies, but today they are regarded as separate species. The habitat of the New Guinea crocodile is mostly freshwater swamps and lakes. It is most active at night when it feeds on fish and a range of other small animals. A female crocodile lays a clutch of eggs in a nest composed of vegetation and she lies up nearby to guard the nest. There is some degree of parental care for newly hatched juveniles.
Wikipedia contributors, New Guinea crocodile; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:57:11.042348+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Crocodylus novaeguineae Schmidt, 1928
- Name authority
- Schmidt, 1928
- Common name
- New Guinea 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 novaeguineae Schmidt, 1928
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 |
| Orinoco crocodileCrocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819 | CrocodylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Philippine crocodileCrocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Oopholis (Philas) adelynhoserae Hoser, 2012 Hoser, 2012 | 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=novaeguineae 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:ZKNM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.