A deeply bizarre group of dwarf crocodiles with fiery orange skin lurk in the caves of Central Africa. Immersed in the environment of Gabon\u2019s Abanda cave system, the crocs have developed several strange adaptations that set them apart from their surface-dwelling counterparts.<\/p>\n
Dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis) are the world\u2019s smallest living species of crocodile, measuring between 1.5 to 1.9 meters (4.9 to 6.2 feet) from snout to tail. Typically, the species lives in the streams and swampy forests of West Africa and Central Africa, but in 2008, biologists found a group thriving within a cave ecosystem for the very first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why are the crocodiles turning orange?<\/p>\n
Their most striking feature is their bright orange skin. It\u2019s not entirely clear why they developed this coloration; animals tend to lose pigment<\/a> in the absence of light, and vibrant orange seems an odd choice for a stealthy predator that hunts in the dark. However, the researchers speculate that the coloration may result from the skin being doused in bat guano. This form of excrement is rich in urea, which could bleach their scales after years and years of exposure.<\/p>\n Since food is relatively scarce down in the caves, the crocodiles have adapted their diet to rely on bats and crickets. Outside crocodiles, on the other hand, enjoy a diet of shrimps, crabs, frogs, and freshwater insects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crocodiles likely either capture bats opportunistically when they fall into the deep guano and mud on the cave floor, or take them directly off the cave walls, where some bats roosted low enough to be captured by a hunting crocodile,\u201d reads a 2016 study<\/a> on the cave-dwellers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The unorthodox diet wasn\u2019t doing the crocodiles any harm. The researchers note that the cave population had a higher body mass than those that live in swampy forest environments, suggesting they were eating well. Prey in the cave is comparatively abundant, plus it\u2019s not affected by the seasonal changes seen on the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n