Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both /krɒkəˈdɪliə/) is an order of mostly large, predatory,

semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago
in the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living relatives
of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. Members
of the order's total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years
ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order
Crocodilia includes the true crocodiles (family Crocodylidae), the alligators and
caimans (family Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae).
Although the term 'crocodiles' is sometimes used to refer to all of these, crocodilians
is a less ambiguous vernacular term for members of this group.

Large, solidly built, lizard-like reptiles, crocodilians have long flattened snouts,
laterally compressed tails, and eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head. They
swim well and can move on land in a "high walk" and a "low walk", while smaller
species are even capable of galloping. Their skin is thick and covered in non-
overlapping scales. They have conical, peg-like teeth and a powerful bite. They have a
four-chambered heart and, somewhat like birds, a unidirectional looping system of
airflow within the lungs, but like other living reptiles they are ectotherms.

Crocodilians are found mainly in lowlands in the tropics, but alligators also live in the
southeastern United States and the Yangtze River in China. They are largely
carnivorous, the various species feeding on animals such as fish, crustaceans,
molluscs, birds, and mammals; some species like the Indian gharial are specialised
feeders, while others like the saltwater crocodile have generalised diets. Crocodilians
are typically solitary and territorial, though cooperative feeding does occur. During
breeding, dominant males try to monopolise available females. Females lay eggs in
holes or in mounds and, unlike most other reptiles, care for their hatched young.

Some species of crocodilians are known to have attacked humans. The largest number
of attacks comes from the Nile crocodile. Humans are the greatest threat to
crocodilian populations through activities that include hunting, poaching, and habitat
destruction, but farming of crocodilians has greatly reduced unlawful trading in wild
skins. Artistic and literary representations of crocodilians have appeared in human
cultures around the world since Ancient Egypt. The earliest known mention of the
story that crocodiles weep for their victims was in the 9th century; it was later spread
by Sir John Mandeville in 1400 and then by William Shakespeare in the late 16th
century and early 17th century.

Crocodilia and Crocodylia have been used interchangeably for decades starting with
Schmidt's redescription of the group from the formerly defunct term Loricata.[1]
Schmidt used the older term Crocodilia, based on Owen's original name for the group.
[2] Shortly after, Wermuth opted for Crocodylia as the proper name for this
redescribed group,[3] basing it on the type genus Crocodylus (Laurenti, 1768).[4]
Dundee—in a revision of many reptilian and amphibian names—argued strongly for
Crocodylia to be the spelling for the group.[5] However, it was not until the advent of
cladistics and phylogenetic nomenclature that a more solid justification for assuming
one spelling over the other was proposed.[6]

Prior to 1988, Crocodilia/Crocodylia was a group that encompassed the modern-day

animals as well as their more distant relatives now in the larger groups called
Crocodylomorpha and Pseudosuchia.[6] Under its current definition as a crown group
(as opposed to a stem-based group), Crocodylia is now restricted to only the last
common ancestor of today's modern-day crocodilians (alligators, crocodiles, and
gharials) and all of its descendants (living or extinct).[6] This distinction is more
important for paleontologists studying crocodilian evolution. As such, the alternate
spellings Crocodilia and Crocodylia are still used interchangeably in the neontological
literature.

Crocodilia[2] appears to be a Latinizing of the Greek κροκόδειλος (crocodeilos),

which means both lizard and Nile crocodile.[7] Crocodylia, as coined by Wermuth,[3]
in regards to the genus Crocodylus appears to be derived from the ancient Greek[8]
κρόκη (kroke)—meaning shingle or pebble—and δρîλος or δρεîλος (dr(e)ilos) for
"worm". The name may refer to the animal's habit of basking on the pebbled shores of
the Nile.[9]