Orange Crocodiles in African Caves, Scientists Discover Reason Behind the Change in Colour

Africa is famous for its biodiversity and among its striking animals species, one has left scientists baffled. In West Africa's Gabon, orange crocodiles have been found which are gorging eyeballs of the scientists. Unlike any of their scaled counterparts, these reptiles have orange tinge on their body. Their unique genetic signature is attracting scientists to know more about it. The find was made when certain scientific minds were studying the ancient human life.

These caves were discovered in the cave system in Gabon when orange eyes stared into a torch of scientists. Being dark and gloomy on the inside it was not possible for them to immediately understand but they speculated the crocodiles may have got their colour due to their food. According to their theories, the darkness in the caves could have caused depigmentation and urea in the bat droppings would have induced the orange hue. A member from the research team said, "the bat guano began to attack their skin and transformed their colour." Rarest Lobsters in The World: One in 30 Million Yellow Lobster Found in New England, View Pics!

While there have been several studies on other crocodiles but ones in the cave habitat are not been researched enough on. Their adaptation to the habitat stands out owing to their orange scales. While forest-dwelling crocodiles have fish and crustaceans, the cave population feasts on bats. The soaking in the bat poop, along with lack of light, and not much connection to the surface has caused the change in their habitat over time. These crocodiles have thus developed into separate species from those residing on the ground.

This particular crocodile species is now a protected one in Gabon. The area of Gabon is itself known for its geological and biological diversity. Oslisly, Testa and an American researcher, wants the site to be declared as a 'wholly protected sanctuary.' "There's much more to learn in the Abanda caves," he said, pledging to develop the site for scientific tourism," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 11:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).