Its lungs are so large that it can last six hours underwater if they are in continuous movement, the crocodile is the longest lung-breathing animal that can last underwater.
The crocodile is the lung-breathing animal that can last the longest underwater
They are large semi-aquatic reptiles that live in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, America and Australia. They first appeared during the Eocene, about fifty-five million years ago.
Crocodiles tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes brackish water.
They feed mainly on vertebrates (fish, reptiles and mammals), and sometimes on invertebrates (mollusks and crustaceans), depending on the species.
Physiology
Fertilization is internal. They are oviparous: they lay eggs in nests that they build with sticks and branches, although these are only the upper part because the eggs are buried.
Sometimes, turtles take advantage of the nests of crocodiles that protect their nest and incubate their eggs.
They also have a heart made up of four cavities (two atria and two ventricles). They are poikilotherms and ectotherms; that is, their body temperature varies with the environment.
They are the animals with pulmonary respiration that can last the longest underwater; their lungs are so large that they can stay underwater for six hours if they are in continuous movement; if they remain still, that is, consuming the minimum amount of oxygen, they are capable of staying underwater for two days at a time.
The abdomen and thorax are separated by a diaphragm used for breathing.
