Philippine crocodile Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–Present,
| |
---|---|
An adult basking on the island of Palawan, Philippines | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Archosauromorpha |
Clade: | Archosauriformes |
Order: | Crocodilia |
Family: | Crocodylidae |
Genus: | Crocodylus |
Species: | C. mindorensis
|
Binomial name | |
Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt, 1935
| |
Range of the Philippine crocodile in blue |
The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis), also known as the Mindoro crocodile, the Philippine freshwater crocodile, the bukarot[4] in Ilocano, and more generally as a buwaya in most Filipino lowland cultures,[4] is one of two species of crocodiles found in the Philippines; the other is the larger saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).[5][6] The Philippine crocodile, the species endemic only to the country, went from data deficient to critically endangered in 2008 from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods,[7] such as dynamite fishing.[8] Conservation methods are being taken by the Dutch/Filipino Mabuwaya foundation,[9] the Crocodile Conservation Society and the Zoological Institute of HerpaWorld in Mindoro island. It is strictly prohibited to kill a crocodile in the country, and it is punishable by law.