
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), also called marsh crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile and mugger, is a crocodilian native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent. It is extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1982.[2]
It is a medium-sized crocodile that inhabits lakes, rivers, marshes and artificial ponds. Both young and adult mugger crocodiles dig burrows where they retreat when temperature drops below 5 °C (41 °F) or exceeds 38 °C (100 °F). Females dig holes in the sand as nesting sites and lay up to 46 eggs during the dry season.[3][4][5] Sex of hatchlings depends on temperature during incubation.[6] It preys on fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Young feed on insects.[7][8]
It is one of three crocodilians in India, apart from saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) and gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).[9]