Cuban crocodile - Crocodylus rhombifer

[Ceratodromeus]

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Crocodylia
Family: Crocodylidae
Subfamily: Crocodylinae
Genus: Crocodylus
Species: C.rhombifer

Geographic distribution & Habitat
Today, the Cuban crocodile can only be found in Cuba's Zapata Swamp and the Isle of Youth, and it is highly endangered. It formerly ranged elsewhere in the Caribbean. Fossils of this species have been found in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.
The Cuban crocodile appears to favor freshwater habitat such as swamps, marshes, and rivers and rarely swims in saltwater.



Biology
The Cuban crocodile has numerous characteristics that set it apart from other crocodilians, such as its brighter adult colors, rougher, more 'pebbled' scales, and long, strong legs. This is a small to mid-sized crocodilian. Typical adults were found to have measured 2.1–2.3 m (6.9–7.5 ft) in length and to have weighed 70–80 kg (150–180 lb). Large males can reach as much as 3.5 m (11 ft) in length and weigh 215 kg (474 lb) or more.

This species has been observed to display interesting behavior that other crocodilians do not. A colony of this species at Gatorland, Florida, has exhibited what is strongly suspected to be pack-hunting behavior, which may explain the predation of prehistoric megafauna that coexisted with this species, such as the giant sloth. The behavior has prompted much interest in the species, usually kept singly (especially so after such reports). This species is also the most terrestrial of crocodiles, and also possibly the most intelligent.

Small fish, arthropods, and crustaceans make up the diet of young Cuban crocodiles. Adults of the species feed mostly upon small mammals, fish, and turtles. They have blunt rear teeth, which aid in crushing the shells of their turtle prey. Cuban crocodiles also demonstrate the jumping feeding technique seen in other crocodilians such as the American alligator. By thrusting with their powerful tails, they can leap from the water and snatch small animals from overhanging branches. The Cuban crocodile, while not a particularly large species, is often regarded as the most aggressive New World crocodile and is behaviorally dominant over the larger American crocodile in areas where the two species coexist.Data regarding attacks on humans are limited, but occurrences are likely rare given the species' very small distribution area and separation from human populations. However, captive specimens show aggression towards their keepers, a behavior displayed at Gatorland.

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_crocodile

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Until about 1,000 years ago, the Cuban crocodile was the largest terrestrial carnivore in the Bahamas. Isotope analysis shows that the large reptiles that dominated the Bahamas (i.e. tortoise and crocodile) were part of a terrestrial food web, not a marine one.

—Human activities in the Bahamas and other oceanic islands have damaged terrestrial ecosystems irreparably through the extinction of indigenous species. Tortoise and crocodile bones from Abaco Island in the Bahamas sampled for 14C-dating revealed a small overlap between the last occurrence of these large reptiles and early human settlement in the Bahamas. Before their extermination approximately 1,000 years ago, the dominant herbivore and carnivore on Abaco Island were the endemic Albury’s Tortoise (Chelonoidis alburyorum) and the formerly widespread Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer). Stable isotope data from carbon (d¹³C) and nitrogen (d¹⁵N) in bone collagen from Late Holocene fossils suggest that these large reptiles were part of a terrestrial rather than marine or estuarine food web. Our proposal that Cuban Crocodiles were once the apex terrestrial predator in the Bahamas is supported by comparisons with published d¹³C values for modern marine/estuarine crocodylians as compared to those of nonmarine reptilian and mammalian carnivores. For reptiles to occupy terrestrial trophic roles distinguishes Bahamian Islands from nearby Greater Antillean Islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico) where endemic mammals represent the largest herbivores and carnivores in prehuman times. This distinction is even greater when compared with Late Quaternary mammals of prehuman vertebrate communities in neighboring North America.

appliedecology.cals.ncsu.edu/absci/wp-content/uploads/Hastings-et-al.-2014pdf.pdf

This is a screenshot from the paper above. Healed and unhealed bite marks from Cuban crocodiles have been found on some tortoise carapaces, although these crocodiles also ate hutias and iguanas.