North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hello

I've come across a skull belonging to a croc found dead in the Fitzroy River at Rockhampton a few years ago.

I'd be interested in knowing its size.

I know the old estimate of 7 times the length of the head but have absolutely no idea of the measuring points (particularly the end of the head on the body). Nobody else I've asked has any idea either so over to the experts.

I do know (because I measured it today) that the distance from the nostrils to the centre of the eyes is 40.5cm.

Anybody tell me how long it was?

Attached is photo of a tooth. One of the larger gripping teeth towards the front of the jaws. Pretty impressive.

Speak to the guys from the couple of croc farms around town. They do heaps of studies on bones/fossils and the like.

dunnu but looking at the difference in colour there is about 50mm poking out of the jaw.

50mm sticking out is about right. Tooth is solid to the 50mm mark then the rest is hollow.

Mainly interested in the croc length.

yeah i realise that but i was justsaying that the tooth length is only 50mm so that should be used to determine the o/a length of the animal
get onto google or the croc trapper around the place

ronje wrote:50mm sticking out is about right. Tooth is solid to the 50mm mark then the rest is hollow.

Mainly interested in the croc length.

Ron, measure from front of nose tip to the back of the occipital platform( the triangular shaped bit at the top rear of the skull )
The accepted theory is 1:7, ergo, 7 times that measurement is pretty damned close
Live/whole crocs are generally measured from nose tip to front edge of the vent (clacker).

Thanks Nomad

They have different sized teeth spread throughout the jaws. I have another tooth from the same croc at 6cm.

The 10cm one wasn't the biggest. I think the head measurement is the way to go alright but nobody seems to really know.

Who is the croc trapper to get hold of?

Tommy Nichols at croc watch would be the man to talk to. 20 years plus working with gators. Just google the number

olfart wrote:

ronje wrote:50mm sticking out is about right. Tooth is solid to the 50mm mark then the rest is hollow.

Mainly interested in the croc length.

Ron, measure from front of nose tip to the back of the occipital platform( the triangular shaped bit at the top rear of the skull )
The accepted theory is 1:7, ergo, 7 times that measurement is pretty damned close
Live/whole crocs are generally measured from nose tip to front edge of the vent (clacker).

Not sure if I have mis-understood what you have written there Graeme. Not sure on the clacker measurement. The clacker on a croc is under its hind legs. This would mean that no tail is takin into account. Im certain the over all length would include its tail.

Standardized way of measuring reptiles and amphibians Pete, tho there is a tendency to take an overall measurement for big stuff.

Hi

Had another look at the skull today.

Have thrown the nostril to eye calculation out the window. It gave me a length of 15ft. (eye-nostril length in inches expressed in ft. 15 inches translates to 15 ft.).

Measured from the nose to the base of the triangular platform as Graham said at 56cm.

Multiply that by 7 = 3.92 metres.

That's more like it.