# American crocodile (*Crocodylus acutus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-crocodile  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), also called the Central American alligator, is a crocodilian reptile in the family Crocodylidae and order Crocodylia. It is a large reptile, with an adult body mass of 76.7 kg, and it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category. Its lifespan is given as 32.9 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 76.7 kg |
| Length | up to 6.1 m |
| Lifespan | 32.9 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 100 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 90 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 30 – 70 |
| Age at maturity | 10 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Crocodylia
- family: Crocodylidae
- genus: Crocodylus
- species: *Crocodylus acutus* Cuvier, 1807

Synonyms: *Crocodilus acutus*, *Crocodilus americanus*, *Crocodilus floridanus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the American crocodile?

The American crocodile is a reptile, a crocodilian in the family Crocodylidae. Its scientific name is Crocodylus acutus.

### How heavy is the American crocodile?

An adult American crocodile has a body mass of 76.7 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).

### Is the American crocodile endangered?

The American crocodile is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the American crocodile live?

The lifespan of the American crocodile is given as 32.9 years.

### How many eggs does the American crocodile lay?

The American crocodile lays 40 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year. The eggs incubate for 90 days.

### When does the American crocodile reach maturity?

The American crocodile reaches sexual maturity at 10 years of age.

### Who named the American crocodile?

The scientific name Crocodylus acutus is credited to Cuvier, 1807.

### What is another name for the American crocodile?

The American crocodile is also called the Central American alligator.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-crocodile