Orinoco crocodile
Crocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819
CRCritically Endangeredcrocodilians
The orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a reptile in the crocodilian family Crocodylidae, named by Graves, 1819. It falls in the large size class, with a representative adult body mass of 107.9 kg.
Quick facts about the orinoco crocodile
The IUCN Red List classifies the orinoco crocodile as Critically Endangered (CR), a threatened category.
- Weight
- 107.9 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 4.8 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 21.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 80 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 82.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 40src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the orinoco crocodile
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the orinoco crocodile live?
Not recorded
What is the orinoco crocodile?
The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a critically endangered crocodile which can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) in the past, weighing over 900 kg (2,000 lb), but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) being a more widely accepted maximum size. A large male today may attain 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) in length and can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb), while females are substantially smaller with the largest likely to weigh around 225 kg (496 lb). Sexual dimorphism is not as profound as in other crocodilian species. The coloration is light even in adults.
The ecology of the Orinoco crocodile is poorly documented in the wild, mostly due to its small population. It is thought to have a more piscivorous diet with an opportunistic nature, resulting in generalist predatory behaviour. It is an apex predator and preys on a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles, including caimans on occasion. Its prey base is mostly large predatory fish, challenging the general view by locals complaining about crocodiles hunting local fish to very low numbers. Reproduction takes place in the dry season when the water level is low. It is a hole nester and digs holes in the sand for its clutch of eggs. The females guard the nests and young for several years.
From the Wikipedia article “Orinoco crocodile” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orinoco_crocodile&oldid=1365453597), 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 orinoco crocodile endangered?
The orinoco crocodile is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely 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 Critically Endangered species.
How is the orinoco crocodile classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderCrocodylia
- familyCrocodylidae
- genusCrocodylus
- SpeciesCrocodylus intermedius Graves, 1819
Synonyms Crocodilus intermedius, Crocodilus journei, Mecistops bathyrhynchus
Other names and names in other languages (43)
- Orinoco KrokodilAfrikaans
- تمساح متوسطArabic
- تمساح أورينوكوArabic
- Orinoko timsahıAzerbaijani
- Оринокски крокодилBulgarian
- амазонски крокодилBulgarian
- Krokodil OrinokoBreton
- cocodril de l'OrinocoCatalan
- krokodýl orinockýCzech
- Orinoco-krokodilleDanish
- OrinokokrokodilGerman
- Orinoko-KrokodilGerman
- Orinoka krokodiloEsperanto
- Caimán llaneroSpanish
- Caimán del OrinocoSpanish
- Cocodrilo del OrinocoSpanish
- OrinoconkrokotiiliFinnish
- Crocodile de l'OrenoqueFrench
- Crocodile de l'OrénoqueFrench
- Crocodilo do OrinocoGalician
- תנין אורינוקוHebrew
- Orinoški krokodilCroatian
- Orinocói krokodilHungarian
- Coccodrillo dell'OrinocoItalian
- オリノコワニJapanese
- 오리노코악어Korean
- Orinoko krokodilasLithuanian
- OrinocokrokodilleNorwegian Bokmål
- Krokodyl z OrinokoPolish
- Krokodyl orinokańskiPolish
- اورینوکو مگرمچھWestern Panjabi
- Crocodilo-do-orinocoPortuguese
- crocodil de OrinocoRomanian
- Оринокский крокодилRussian
- Колумбийский крокодилRussian
- Krokodíl orinockýSlovak
- Ориночки крокодилSerbian
- Orinočki krokodilSerbian
- ஓரினோக்கோ முதலைTamil
- Orinoco timsahıTurkish
- Крокодил орінокськийUkrainian
- Cá sấu OrinocoVietnamese
- 奧利諾科鱷Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the orinoco crocodile
Other species in the same genus Crocodylus.
Nile crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus
Saltwater crocodile
Crocodylus porosus
Mugger crocodile
Crocodylus palustris
American crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
Siamese crocodile
Crocodylus siamensis
Philippine crocodile
Crocodylus mindorensis
CompareOrinoco crocodile vs Nile crocodileOrinoco crocodile vs Saltwater crocodileOrinoco crocodile vs Mugger crocodileOrinoco crocodile vs American 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 orinoco crocodile?
The orinoco crocodile is a reptile and a crocodilian in the family Crocodylidae and the genus Crocodylus.
How heavy is the orinoco crocodile?
A representative adult Orinoco crocodile weighs 107.9 kg, placing it in the large size class.
Is the orinoco crocodile endangered?
Yes. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Critically Endangered (CR), a threatened category.
How long does the orinoco crocodile live?
Its lifespan is given as 21.8 years, and the highest value reported by our sources is 80 years.
How many eggs does the orinoco crocodile lay?
The orinoco crocodile lays 40 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year, and the eggs incubate for 82.5 days.
When does the orinoco crocodile reach sexual maturity?
The orinoco crocodile reaches sexual maturity at 12.5 years.
Who named the orinoco crocodile?
The orinoco crocodile, Crocodylus intermedius, was named by Graves, 1819.
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). Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/orinoco-crocodile
“Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/orinoco-crocodile.
@misc{orinoco_crocodile_2026,
title = {Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/orinoco-crocodile},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}