Crocodiles and False Gharials: Crocodylidae

Crocodiles spend their time in or near the water. Unlike alligators and caimans that only live in freshwater habitats, crocodiles can survive in freshwater or saltwater. Crocodiles do not, however, swim around in the open ocean. Instead, they live in saltwater marshes or creeks. They have special organs, called salt glands, that get rid of this extra salt so they can survive. Without these organs, they could not live in saltwater. Crocodiles make their homes in warm, tropical areas, although the mugger crocodile and the American crocodile can survive in subtropical regions that are slightly less warm. Those that live in areas with periods of extremely dry weather sometimes find that their watering holes disappear, and they must spend the next few weeks buried deep underground until the rains return.