The Siamese crocodile is native to Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Wetlands (inland) HABITAT AND ECOLOGY Crocodylus siamensis occurs in a wide range of lowland freshwater habitats, including slow-moving rivers and streams, lakes, seasonal oxbow lakes, marshes and swamps (Smith 1931; Daltry et al. 2003; Platt et al. 2002, 2006; Bezuijen et al. in press). During the wet season, individuals disperse across flooded landscapes (one radio-tracked individual in Cambodia moved up to 25 km before returning to a dry season site; Simpson et al. 2006b). The species has been recorded up to 600 m elevation (Daltry et al. 2003). Crocodylus siamensis is a medium-sized species, with most individuals attaining a total length of less than 3.5 m (Smith 1919). Nesting ecology is poorly documented and fewer than a few dozen wild nests have been located to date. Wild nests recorded in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand were mounds located on floating vegetation mats or on the banks of lakes or rivers (Platt et al. 2006, Simpson et al. 2006a, Starr et al. 2010, Bezuijen et al. in press). Nesting occurs in the late dry season and and wet season. Clutch size observed in wild nests ranged from 11-26 eggs (Simpson and Han 2004, Starr et al. 2010, Bezuijen et al. in press). Captive C. siamensis produce clutches of 6-50 eggs (Youngprapakorn et al. 1971, Platt et al. 2011). Hatchlings emerge in the wet season after 70-80 days incubation (Brazaitis and Watanbe 1983, Platt et al. 2011, Bezuijen et al. in press). Fidelity to nesting sites has been recorded (Simpson et al. 2006a). Similar to many other crocodilians, C. siamensis feeds on a wide variety of prey such as invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals, including carrion (Daltry et al. 2003, Bezuijen 2010). Other scientific studies of C. siamensis have included information on phylogeography and population genetics (Gratten 2003), seasonal sperm cycles (Kitiyanant et al. 1994) and the antimicrobial properties of its blood (Merchant et al. 2006). Hybridization of captive C. siamensis with C. rhombifer and C. porosus occurs (Chavananikul et al. 1994, Thang 1994), and the chromosome number of C. siamensis and hybrids, as well as DNA methods to distinguish them, has been identified (Youngprapakorn 1991, Fitzsimmons et al. 2002, Srikulnath et al. 2012).
Update : 11 April 2017
