Mugger crocodile
Crocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), also called the Marsh crocodile, Swamp crocodile or Indus crocodile, is a reptile in the crocodilian family Crocodylidae. It is a large crocodilian with a representative adult body mass of 42.7 kg.
Quick facts about the mugger crocodile
The IUCN Red List classifies the mugger crocodile as Vulnerable, a threatened category.
- Weight
- 42.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 5 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 30 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 40 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwater, riverinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 70 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8 – 46src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 6.33 years – 10 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mugger crocodile
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the mugger crocodile live?
Not recorded
What is the mugger crocodile?
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from south-eastern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, lakes, rivers and artificial ponds. It rarely reaches a body length of 5 m (16 ft 5 in) and is a powerful swimmer, but also walks on land in search of suitable waterbodies during the hot season. Both young and adult mugger crocodiles dig burrows to which they retreat when the ambient temperature drops below 5 °C (41 °F) or exceeds 38 °C (100 °F). Females dig holes in the sand as nesting sites and lay up to 46 eggs during the dry season. The sex of hatchlings depends on temperature during incubation. Both parents protect the young for up to one year. They feed on insects, and adults prey on fish, reptiles, birds and mammals.
The mugger crocodile evolved at least 4.19 million years ago and has been a symbol for the fructifying and destructive powers of the rivers since the Vedic period. It was first scientifically described in 1831 and is protected by law in Iran, India and Sri Lanka. Since 1982, it has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Outside protected areas, it is threatened by conversion of natural habitats, gets entangled in fishing nets and is killed in human–wildlife conflict situations and in traffic accidents.
From the Wikipedia article “Mugger crocodile” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mugger_crocodile&oldid=1379990594), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mugger crocodile endangered?
The mugger crocodile is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the mugger crocodile classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderCrocodylia
- familyCrocodylidae
- genusCrocodylus
- SpeciesCrocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831
Synonyms Crocodilus bombifrons, Crocodilus palustris, Crocodilus trigonops, Crocodilus vulgaris indicus, Crocodilus vulgarts var. indicus, Crocodylus palustris kimbula, Crocodylus palustris palustris
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- Broad-snouted crocodileEnglish
- Broad-snouted crocodileEnglish
- Indian crocodileEnglish
- Indian swamp crocodileEnglish
- Indus crocodileEnglish
- Indus crocodileEnglish
- Marsh crocodileEnglish
- Marsh crocodileEnglish
- MuggarEnglish
- MuggarEnglish
- MuggerEnglish
- MuggerEnglish
- Persian crocodileEnglish
- Sindhu crocodileEnglish
- Swamp crocodileEnglish
- LuikkrokodilAfrikaans
- Indiese KrokodilAfrikaans
- مجارArabic
- مَجّارArabic
- تمساح المستنقعاتArabic
- স্বাদুপানির কুমিরBangla
- Cocodril PersaCatalan
- krokodýl bahenníCzech
- SumpfkrokodilGerman
- SumpkrokodilleGerman
- Cocodrilo MarismeñoSpanish
- Cocodrilo de las MarismasSpanish
- Cocodrilo del MarjalSpanish
- گاندوPersian
- SuokrokotiiliFinnish
- Crocodile paludéenFrench
- Crocodile des MaraisFrench
- Crocodile palustreFrench
- મગરGujarati
- Močvarni krokodilSerbian (Latin)
- mocsári krokodilHungarian
- Coccodrillo indianoItalian
- Coccodrillo di PaludeItalian
- Coccodrillo palustreItalian
- Coccodrillo palustre indianoItalian
- ヌマワニJapanese
- 늪악어Korean
- 늪지악어Korean
- मगरMarathi
- MoeraskrokodilDutch
- krokodyl błotnyPolish
- Crocodilo-persaPortuguese
- Болотный крокодилRussian
- හැල කිඹුලාSinhala
- močvirski krokodilSlovenian
- индијски крокодилSerbian
- சதுப்புநில முதலைTamil
- చిత్తడి మొసలిTelugu
- Bataklık TimsahıTurkish
- Крокодил болотнийUkrainian
- 沼澤鱷Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the mugger crocodile
Other species in the same genus Crocodylus.
Nile crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus
Saltwater crocodile
Crocodylus porosus
American crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
Siamese crocodile
Crocodylus siamensis
Philippine crocodile
Crocodylus mindorensis
Cuban crocodile
Crocodylus rhombifer
CompareMugger crocodile vs Nile crocodileMugger crocodile vs Saltwater crocodileMugger crocodile vs American crocodileMugger crocodile vs Siamese crocodile
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mugger crocodile?
The mugger crocodile is a reptile, a crocodilian in the family Crocodylidae and the genus Crocodylus.
How heavy is a mugger crocodile?
An adult Mugger crocodile has a representative body mass of 42.7 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).
Is the mugger crocodile endangered?
The mugger crocodile is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a mugger crocodile live?
The mugger crocodile has a lifespan of 29.95 years, with values up to 31.5 years reported.
How many eggs does a mugger crocodile lay?
The mugger crocodile has a clutch size of 28.75 and produces 2 clutches per year.
How long do Mugger crocodile eggs take to hatch?
Mugger crocodile eggs have an incubation period of 70 days.
When does a mugger crocodile reach sexual maturity?
The mugger crocodile reaches sexual maturity at 8.2 years, with reported values from 6.3 to 10 years.
Who named the mugger crocodile?
The mugger crocodile, Crocodylus palustris, was named by Lesson, 1831.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mugger-crocodile
“Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mugger-crocodile.
@misc{mugger_crocodile_2026,
title = {Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mugger-crocodile},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}