Heaviest reptile

What to remember

From India's east coast to northern Australia and Micronesia, the saltwater crocodile occupies salt water, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers. The largest living reptile, it holds the mass record at 2,000 kg for the biggest known specimens.

That maximum is far from the norm. A saltwater crocodile typically weighs around 450 kg and measures 4.5 m. Males can grow to 1,000 to 1,500 kg and 6 m, rarely exceeding 6.3 m, while females are much smaller and rarely pass 3 m, a striking gap between the sexes.

Hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s, it was listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 1996. It will even take sharks. It also goes by estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile and, informally, "saltie".