The Pebble Worm
The word Crocodile means Pebble Worm, named because of its bumpy skin and elongated shape.
This skeleton of a Nile Crocodile at the Natural History Museum in London fascinates me. Crocodiles have a powerful bite, with a joint which allows the pressure they exert to be spread. If they bite, you won’t be able to open their jaws. Having said that, the muscles to open the jaw are so weak that you can easily hold a Nile Crocodile’s jaw’s shut. Don’t take my word for it when you’re in the Nile, though.
I like the way that evolutionary time has moved their nostrils, eyes and ears to the very top of the skull, to appear just above water-level. It’s the same gradual change in a population which has resulted in nasal drift in dolphins.
Human faces have also changed, with modern humans having tiny, flat faces compared with the first modern humans, who had huge protruding features. I’m blaming soft, processed food, as I tuck into a bowl of breakfast porridge.