Recent research has shown that crocodile skin has tiny pigments that look like black spots that can detect pressure or vibrations on the surface of the water.
The slightest ripple on the surface of the water can be detected by crocodiles through sensors on their skin which scientists call the integumentary sensory organs or ISO.
Dr Duncan Leitch, from Vanderbilt University, said the black speck or strange dome on the crocodile’s head acts as a very sensitive sensor. “This sensor can sense touch or pressure 10 times better than the skin on the tip of a human finger,” he was quoted as saying SEM ScienceSaturday (12/3/2022).
READ: These are Signs of a Crocodile in a River or Swamp
There are about 4,000 such dots in the head crocodile , especially along their jaws, in their mouths, and between their teeth. Alligators are even more numerous, having about 9,000 spots all over their bodies.
The researchers found that the most sensitive ISO can sense forces as small as 78 millionths of a Newton or 10 times more sensitive than the most sensitive part of a human fingertip.
This explains how crocodiles and alligators are able to detect ripples even from a drop of water falling on the surface of the water. To test the theory, Leitch dropped a food pellet into a water tank filled with tiny crocodiles, all in complete darkness.
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