Crocodilus
9.5
A group of crocodile species named by scientists
- noun
- /ˈkrɒkəˌdɪləs/
- Specialized
:
Crocodilus
- During the wildlife tour, we spotted a Crocodilus lurking in the murky waters.
Examples
-
The scientist observed a Crocodilus basking in the sun along the riverbank.
-
An ecotourism reserve situated high in Costa Rica's Talamanca Mountains, for example, keeps a wild caiman (Caiman crocodilus) on site, far from its native habitat.
Academic text (2001) -
The documentary featured information about the behavior of the Crocodilus in its natural habitat.
Synonyms
1
9.6
A group of large crocodile species that live in tropical rivers and coasts
has identical meaning but uses an alternative scientific spelling
Surface Forms
Crocodilus singular
Crocodili plural
Etymology
Crocodilus comes from the old Greek word krokodeilos, probably made from krokē 'pebble' and deilos 'worm', a picture people used for a long animal that looked like a 'worm among stones' on river banks. This is the same root as the English word crocodile, so Crocodilus is the scientific name for the true crocodiles.