Crocodile Fish:
A Successful Jaw!
There are several crocodile fish alive today that show the seemingly inevitable evolution of that kind of jaw and way of life. Crocodiles and alligators are best known for their mouths, and rightly so. Those mouths have caused a lot of fear in people and in the case of certain crocs like the saltwater crocodile, this is quite justified.
Those croc jaws are not just found on crocs. The most remarkable resemblance has to be found in the Alligator Gar.The Alligator GarAs you can see from the image below, the alligator gar's mouth is almost identical to that of the classic saltwater crocodile, even down to the bump on the end of the nose.
As the picture to the right also shows, the size and body shape of the alligator gar is similar to a crocodile or alligator. This poor fish's mouth has caused it to be feared and considered a danger to humans, though nobody has ever been killed by one of these creatures.The Longnose GarAnother member of the Gar fish family has a crocodile like snout. The Longnose Gar has a more slender snout than the Alligator Gar, and it does not grow as large. It feeds mainly on small fish. By comparison, the Australian freshwater crocodile is also smaller than the big broad nosed saltwater croc. It has a more slender snout and feeds primarily on small fish. Have a look at the moths of these two creatures:
What's The Point?The crocodile like snout seems to be a form that works really well, which is why it has been around for so long and why it crops up in so many species throughout time. Being such a successful development, it is not suprising then that crocodiles have survived for so long. We can also understand why their jaws have not changed a great deal during the course of time. A Last Note...Have a look at Ambulocetus, the semi-aquatic ancestor of the whales. It too was an ambush predator that would lurk in swampy areas and wait for prey. That snout looks familiar...
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