AcknowledgmeIlIS.-We would foremost like to thank Jorge Lar­ collaboration reveals encouraging status for the severely deplet­ gaespada for his dedication to this work. We gratefully thank Osa ed population of hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata. Oryx Conservation for providing key provisions for the study, Osa Adven­ 44:595-601. turas, EI Tigre Fund, Walter Aguirre Aguirre, Juan Diego Morales Cam­ --, R. L. LEWISON, I. L. YA"JEZ, B. P. WALLACE, M. j. LILES, W. J. NICHOLS, bronero, Marvin Villalabos Palma, and Dan Hughes for field support, A. BAQUERO, C. R. HASBIlN, M. VASQUEZ, j. UIlTEAGA, AND J. A. SEMINOFF. and Jorge Cortes, Pilar Bernal, and Didher Chacon for valued insigh t. 2012. Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat This project was funded by a Greg Gund Memorial Fellowship. use by hawksbill turtles. BioI. Lett. 8:54-56. HAZEL, I., I. R.IAWLLR, lIND M. HAMANN. 2009. Diving at the shallow end: green turtle behavior in near-shore foraging habitat. I. 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D., AND D. A. HUGHES. 1972. Some observation of sea turtle green turtle foraging ground at Dulce Gulf, south Pacific coast of nesting activity in Costa Rica. Mar. BioI. 16:297-309. Costa Rica. 31" Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology & Con­ SEMINOFF, I. A., A. RESENDIZ, AND W. I. NICHOLS. 2002. Diet of the east Pa­ servation, San Diego, California, poster presentation. cific green turtle, Chelonia mydas, in the central Gulfof California, COHTI'S, J. 200 I. Requiem for an eastern Pacific seagrass bed. Rev. BioI. Mexico. J. Herpeto!. 36:447-453. Trop. 49:273-278. SENKO, I., V. KOCH, W. M. MEGILL, R. R. CARTHY, R. P. TEMPLETON, AND W. I. --, ,1:>10 E. SALAS. 2009. Seagrasses. [n I. S. Wehrtmann, and J. Cor­ NICHOLS. 2010. Fine scale daily movements and habitat use of East tes (eds.), Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America, pp. Pacific green turtles at a shallow coastal lagoon in Baja California 119-122. Monographiae Biologicae, Springer Science, Berlin. Sur, Mexico. I. Exp. 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SEMINOFI', M. VASQUEZ, J. URTL-IGA, B. WALLACE, I. L. YA.~EZ, AND P. graphiae Biologicae, Springer Science, Berlin. ZARATE. 2010. Signs of hope in the eastern Pacific: international Herpetological Relliew, 2012,43(4),541-546. ij) 20 12 by Society for (he S(udy of Amphibians and Repliles Here be a Dragon: Exceptional Size in a Saltwater Crocodile ((roeody/us porosus) from the Philippines ......................................................................................................................... Crocodiles (Reptilia: Crocodylia) are generally regarded as the ADAM R. C. BRITTON* largest living reptiles by mass (Britton 2003). Exceptionally large Big Gecko Crocodilian Research, PO Box 1281, Howard Springs, individuals regularly attract mainstream attention, often en­ Northern Territory 0822, Australia; hanced by unrealistic and exaggerated accounts of their size and Research Institute ofEnvironment and Livelihoods, behavior. Actual evidence on the upper size limit of crocodiles Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia is lacking and romantic accounts and misleading photographs ROMULUS WHITAKER are often the only remains. Skulls found in museums and private NIKHIL WHITAKER collections provide a tantalizing glimpse into the size of their Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Post Bag No.4, Mamallapuram 603104, former owners, yet total lengths are usually not available, the Tamil Nadu, India techniques used to obtain them are not known, and the verac­ *Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] ity of such measurements is questionable {Greer 1974; Whitaker Herpetological Review 43(4),2012 542 ARTICLES and Whitaker 2008). Limited verification is possible using exist­ were found fastened around the crocodile's upper jaw. Dozens of ing formulae for predicting total length (TL) from skull measure­ people were reportedly required to haul the crocodile onto the ments such as dorsal cranial length (DCL; e.g., Verdade 1999; bank where his jaws and legs were bound using ropes (E. Elorde, Webb and Messe11978; Wu et al. 2006). However, such formulae pers. comm.). Key PWRCC staffwho were not present on the cap­ are typically derived from a subset of possible size ranges, and ture night provided additional guidance by mobile phone. Over become increasingly inaccurate if applied outside those ranges 100 people were required to haul the crocodile by cart along the to the largest examples of a species. Not only do crocodilian body river bank to the nearby village and a floating pontoon had to be parts show allometric change with increasing size (Gans 1980), constructed to float the crocodile across the creek to access the the rate and direction of change is not constant (Hall 1985; Hall only available road. The crocodile was then transferred to nearby and Portier 1994) and there is increasing variability particular­ holding facilities and now resides at Bunawan Eco-Park and Re­ ly near the maximum upper size limit (Whitaker and Whitaker search Center. 2008). As there is a dearth of data available from thorough and There was considerable international interest in the total systematic measurements of very large crocodiles, our ability to length of Lolong. The crocodile which killed Rowena Romano predict TL from other variables including DCL is compromised was estimated by a witness to be "30 ft" (9.1 m) in length, whereas near the upper limit. Such information is useful across a number the crocodile seen hunting carabao near the village shortly be­ of disciplines including paleontology, conservation and popula­ fore capture was suspected to be closer to "16 ft" (4.9 m) long (E. tion management (Brochu 2001; Schmidt-Nielsen 1984). Elorde, pers. comm.). His true size only became apparent during We present accurate measurements for an exceptionally capture. Media reports of his length were inconsistent, ranging large Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus Schneider 1801) from 6.1 to 6.4 m (20-21 ft). It was not known at the time how that was captured alive from Mindanao in the Philippines. We accurately the crocodile had been measured, what method had compare these measurements with those of other exceptionally been used, or whether the figure had been reported correctly. large crocodiles and discuss factors responsible for exceptional However, photographic and video evidence showed his size to be size. exceptional. This was sufficient to attract serious interest in veri­ Background.-The capture of an exceptionally large male fying the measurement and Natural History New Zealand dis­ C. porosus from a small creek not far from Bunawan in the Agu­ patched one of the authors (AB) to visit Bunawan and indepen­ san del Sur province of Mindanao in the Philippines made in­ dently measure the crocodile where it would be witnessed and ternational headlines on 3 September 2011. This crocodile was documented. Funding was provided by National Geographic.