Florida’s fearsome lord of the swamps, the American alligator, ranks sixth in the world in the power of its bite.
The strongest bite belongs to the saltwater crocodile, a Pacific ocean species that crunches down with 3,700 pounds of pressure, according to a new study led by Florida State University biology professor Greg Erickson, whose team strapped down 83 alligators and crocodiles and placed measuring devices between their teeth.
The American alligator bit with a force of 2,980 pounds. Although this ranked fifth among the species tested, Erickson said it really ranks sixth, behind the American crocodile, a rare species for which he was unable to test the largest specimens. The study was published in the journal PLoS One.
He said bite force tended to follow size. The saltwater crocodile tested was 17 feet, and the American alligator was 13 feet. He said the immense power exerted by all alligators and crocodiles allows them to crush the bones of any animal.
"I'm interested in the secrets of their 85 million years of success, and a lot of it has to do with their feeding," he said.