Why Do Crocodiles Gallop?

A group of researchers led by members of the Structure and Motion lab at the Royal Veterinary College from London gathered to investigate why alligators don’t gallop whilst crocodiles, who are anatomically similar to them, do. They conducted research on the limbs of alligators and crocodiles in order to discover where this behavioral difference comes from.

The researchers analyzed the specimens of six different alligator and crocodile species and found that crocodiles have longer fibres in the limb muscles, which gives them more rotation and range in the limb. Alligators, on the other hand, have larger muscle fibres which help them generate greater force, but they can’t gallop.