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What the study measured
Erickson and colleagues tested 83 sexually mature crocodilians representing all 23 extant species. The animals ranged from 1.24 to 4.59 metres long and from 7 to 531 kilograms; testing took place at facilities in Florida and Australia. The study was published in PLOS ONE on March 14, 2012. Read the study.
Researchers recorded bite force at the prominent upper molariform teeth, which sit farther back in the mouth. They also estimated force at prominent caniniform teeth nearer the front using lever mechanics. These are force measurements or estimates, expressed in newtons (N). The researchers then divided force by an assumed contact area of 1 mm² to estimate tooth pressure, expressed in megapascals (MPa). Pressure is force concentrated over an area; it is not another name for bite force.
How strong were the bites?
Across species, the taxon-representative molariform bite-force values ranged from 900 N for the dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) to 8,983 N for the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Separately, one saltwater crocodile produced the study’s highest individual measurement: 16,414 N. That individual maximum should not be confused with the range of representative species values.
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Why the bone comparison needs a qualification
Using the study’s 1 mm² contact-area assumption, estimated taxon-representative tooth pressures ranged from 203 to 1,388 MPa at molariform teeth and from 195 to 1,344 MPa at caniniform teeth. The paper cites bone’s ultimate shear strength as 65–71 MPa. Comparing those values helps explain the headline’s shorthand: the estimated pressure at a crocodilian tooth can greatly exceed the cited strength of bone.
But the study did not demonstrate a crocodile snapping a toothpick or directly test how a bite breaks bone. Its tooth-pressure figures depend on the assumed contact area, and comparing that estimated pressure with a material-strength value is not the same as measuring damage to a particular bone. A toothpick is a vivid image, not a tested benchmark.
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Does the biggest snout mean the strongest bite?
Body size was the main factor associated with bite force across crocodilian species. Once size was taken into account, snout proportions explained little of the remaining variation. A broad snout alone therefore does not establish that an animal has a stronger bite than a narrower-snouted crocodilian of comparable size. The Indian gharial was a low-force outlier relative to other living crocodilians, but the study’s broader pattern was that body mass mattered more than snout shape.
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What to take from the numbers
- Force: the study directly measured bites at prominent upper molariform teeth and inferred force at caniniform teeth.
- Pressure: the reported tooth-pressure values were calculated using force divided by an assumed 1 mm² contact area.
- Bone: the comparison with cited bone strength supports the idea that crocodilian teeth can apply potentially damaging pressure; it is not a direct bone-breaking trial.
- Species differences: body size is the clearest guide to bite-force differences in the study, with snout proportions playing a smaller role after size is considered.
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