Vegetarian crocodiles once roamed the world

COMPARED WITH mammals, living members of the crocodile clan have exceptionally boring dentition. From the slender-snouted gharials of India and the nocturnal caimans of South America to the saltwater behemoths of the South Pacific, crocodile teeth vary little in morphology. All are conical and pointed. Each tooth in an animal’s mouth is almost identical to its neighbours—as befits a group of that feed on a mixture of fish and the occasional careless beast that strays too close to the shore, or even into the water itself.