Bold Alligators, Who Chew Bats Generously, Are Worth ‘Golden Warriors’ or a New Crocodile Species
The Abaanda Caves in Gabon are definitely not an ideal place to live.
Deep within the caves, it's dark and hot, with thousands of bats hanging overhead, and a sticky, foul-smelling mixture of bat droppings and mud underfoot. It's truly nauseating.
Such a harsh environment may harbor a new species of crocodile.
A crocodile that devours bats would be a 'golden warrior'.
During an expedition, the research team discovered a peculiar crocodile, this crocodile is dubbed a 'golden warrior', the reason for this title can be traced back to its appearance and diet.
As is well known, crocodiles are generally gray in color, even if they have genetic problems, they tend to be white. In this discovery, the crocodile is strikingly orange, which is quite unusual.
Moreover, because the crocodile dwells in the caves, its diet and habits are different from those of ordinary crocodiles, it doesn't eat fish or crustaceans, it can only feed on bats and crickets, bats contain various viruses, it's a 'king of poison', and now everyone is afraid of bats, this crocodile is able to devour bats, it is undoubtedly a king.
Why is this crocodile orange? Is it a genetic mutation?
Scientists observed that some large male crocodiles are also orange, so it's unlikely to be a genetic mutation, it's more likely the result of soaking in bat droppings.
Bat droppings are mainly composed of urea, a nitrogen-rich chemical substance. When the crocodile stays in the high-alkaline water of bat droppings for a long time, it may cause changes in its skin.
Cave crocodiles may evolve into a new species.
There are approximately 100-200 crocodiles in this cave system. To verify their unique genetic traits, the research team collected samples from 30-40 cave crocodiles and compared them with the blood samples of about 200 terrestrial crocodiles in the same area.
The results showed that the cave crocodiles have a unique gene that is not found in terrestrial crocodiles.
This means that the cave crocodiles are a mutated species.
Scientists speculate that at least several thousand years ago, by chance, some crocodiles wandered into the caves to find refuge or food, and settled down. Because there were few individuals entering and exiting the caves, the crocodiles' color gradually changed due to the special environment and food, and eventually formed unique genetic traits over several hundred generations.
