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The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers FAQs
How have crocodiles survived for millions of years?
Crocodiles have survived for over 200 million years due to their ability to adapt to environmental changes, slow metabolism, and efficient hunting skills. They endured the extinction of dinosaurs and harsh climatic changes by adjusting their behavior and physiology.
What makes crocodiles effective hunters?
Crocodiles are stealthy predators with strong jaws, a streamlined body, and a powerful tail. They remain nearly invisible in water, ambush their prey silently, and use their tails to knock animals unconscious before dragging them into the water.
How do crocodiles survive without food for long periods?
Crocodiles have a slow metabolism, allowing them to conserve energy and survive for months or even a year without eating. During extreme conditions, they can further reduce their metabolism to minimize energy use.
What is aestivation, and why do crocodiles do it?
Aestivation is a state of dormancy in which crocodiles enter during hot, dry seasons to conserve energy and survive without food or water. They burrow into mud and reduce their metabolic activity until conditions improve.
Do crocodiles need sunlight to regulate their body temperature?
Yes, crocodiles are cold-blooded (poikilothermic) and rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. They bask in the sun to warm up and retreat to water or shade when it gets too hot.
The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers, IELTS Passage
The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers explores how crocodiles have adapted over 200 million years, their hunting skills, metabolism, and survival strategies, including aestivation during extreme conditions.
Porishmita .25 Feb, 2025
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The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading test on "The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives" features different question types like Matching Headings, Summary Completion, and True/False/Not Given. The passage explains how crocodiles have adapted over millions of years, their survival techniques, and their unique characteristics. It also explores their hunting methods, metabolism, and ability to endure extreme conditions. To prepare well, students should practice the IELTS Reading section sample questions within the 60-minute time limit. This guide will help improve their understanding of the passage and boost their overall IELTS Reading band score.
The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers Passage
Crocodile Survives
Paragraph A: Even though crocodiles have been around for 200 million years, they are not a primitive species of animal. Because of the aquatic lifestyle that their ancestors adopted, crocodiles can now be found in water. While most modern reptiles have gone extinct, crocodiles have adapted to the changes in their environment. They survived the rise and fall of the once-dominant dinosaurs and even the 65 million years of supposed mammalian dominance. The ability to adapt has demonstrated how little crocodiles and alligators have changed from their ancient ancestors.
Paragraph B: The earliest ancestor of crocodiles appeared about 250 million years ago. Crocodiles are the ideal and natural stealth hunters due to their characteristics. They have a long tail, streamlined body, armour, and long jaws, for example. Although they have four small, webbed legs, you should never undervalue their mobility on the ground. They move so quickly, especially when hunting, that you won't even have time to try to make the same mistake by approaching them too closely.
Paragraph C: Crocodiles, like other reptiles, are poikilothermic animals (commonly known as coldblooded, whose body temperature changes with that of the surroundings), and as a result, they need regular exposure to sunlight to raise body temperature. They would rather remain in water or the shade when it is too hot. Crocodiles' slower metabolism makes them less susceptible to food shortages than mammals and birds. In the worst case, a crocodile can further slow its metabolism to the point where it could go an entire year without eating, allowing it to outlive mammals in unstable environments.
Paragraph D: Crocodiles are very effective at catching prey. Without making any noise or strong vibrations, crocodiles can catch their prey without the prey even being aware of it. It only keeps its height above the water at eye level. As soon as it decides the victim is close enough, it jerks out of the water with its wide open jaws. Crocodiles are able to alter their feeding methods, which aids in their survival. The crocodile rushes forward when an ambush opportunity arises, knocks the animal unconscious with its strong tail, and then drags the prey into the water to drown. It catches birds at the water's surface and chases after fish. In preparation for a gazelle, it hides in the vegetation by the water.
Paragraph E: The hot season brings drought to many crocodilian habitats, drying up their prey areas and making it more difficult for them to control body temperature. As a result, reptiles could rule. For instance, many crocodiles can defend themselves by excavating holes and encasing themselves in mud while they wait for the rains to return for months without eating or drinking. They enter what is known as aestivation, a quiescent state. It is believed that the majority of crocodilians enter aestivation during the dry season. The King Crocodile, a species of fresh water crocodile native to Australia, spent nearly four months of the year underground during a six-year study by Kennett and Christian. In some years, plasma fluid samples were taken once a month to monitor the effects of aestivation with regard to the accumulation of nitrogenous wastes and electrolyte concentrations. Doubly labelled water was used to detect field metabolic rates and water flux.
Paragraph F: According to the study, the crocodiles' metabolic engines work slowly, producing waste while depleting their water and fat stores. Urine stores waste, which is increasingly concentrated. However, the level of waste materials in blood doesn't change much, so the crocodiles can go about their daily business. In addition to this, even though the crocodiles lost water reserves and body mass while submerged, the losses were proportional, and when they came to the surface, the aestivating animals exhibited no symptoms of dehydration or other unfavourable effects, such as slowed growth. The two scientists believe that the ability of crocodiles to endure difficult circumstances and protracted starvation periods is undoubtedly the key to the crocodilian line's survival throughout history.
The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers Sample Questions
Questions 1-7
(Choose the correct heading for paragraph A-G from the list below.)
List of Headings: i. The survival of crocodiles through history ii. The special features of crocodiles iii. How crocodiles regulate their body temperature iv. The hunting techniques of crocodiles v. The impact of food shortages on crocodiles vi. The ability to adapt to different seasons vii. Scientific study on crocodile aestivation viii. The physical endurance of crocodiles ix. The relationship between crocodiles and dinosaurs x. The metabolic strategies of crocodiles xi. The role of crocodiles in the ecosystem
Paragraph A
Paragraph B
Paragraph C
Paragraph D
Paragraph E
Paragraph F
Paragraph G
Questions 8-13
(Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER.)
Crocodiles have existed for nearly (8) ______ million years and have managed to survive environmental changes while many other reptiles went extinct. One of their key survival strategies is their ability to regulate their (9) ______, which helps them conserve energy and survive food shortages. In extreme cases, crocodiles can slow down their (10) ______, allowing them to survive without food for an entire year.
Their unique (11) ______ enable them to hunt with precision, remaining undetected until they attack. They use their (12) ______ to knock prey unconscious before dragging it into the water. Some crocodiles can even enter a state called (13) ______, where they remain dormant underground during dry seasons to survive harsh conditions.
The Evolutionary Mystery Crocodile Survives Reading Answers with Explanations
1. Paragraph A - ix. The relationship between crocodiles and dinosaurs Location: Paragraph A Reference: "They survived the rise and fall of the once-dominant dinosaurs and even the 65 million years of supposed mammalian dominance." Explanation: This paragraph discusses how crocodiles have survived through different evolutionary periods, including the time of the dinosaurs.
2. Paragraph B - ii. The special features of crocodiles Location: Paragraph B Reference: "Crocodiles are the ideal and natural stealth hunters due to their characteristics. They have a long tail, streamlined body, armour, and long jaws, for example." Explanation: This paragraph highlights the physical attributes that make crocodiles effective hunters.
3. Paragraph C - iii. How crocodiles regulate their body temperature Location: Paragraph C Reference: "Crocodiles, like other reptiles, are poikilothermic animals… they need regular exposure to sunlight to raise body temperature. They would rather remain in water or the shade when it is too hot." Explanation: This paragraph explains how crocodiles control their body temperature by moving between sunlight and shade.
4. Paragraph D - iv. The hunting techniques of crocodiles Location: Paragraph D Reference: "Without making any noise or strong vibrations, crocodiles can catch their prey without the prey even being aware of it." Explanation: This paragraph describes the hunting strategies used by crocodiles to catch their prey.
5. Paragraph E - vi. The ability to adapt to different seasons Location: Paragraph E Reference: "The hot season brings drought to many crocodilian habitats, drying up their prey areas and making it more difficult for them to control body temperature." Explanation: This paragraph discusses how crocodiles adapt to seasonal changes, such as drought.
6. Paragraph F - vii. Scientific study on crocodile aestivation Location: Paragraph F Reference: "The King Crocodile, a species of freshwater crocodile native to Australia, spent nearly four months of the year underground during a six-year study by Kennett and Christian." Explanation: This paragraph presents a scientific study of how crocodiles survive during dry periods.
7. Paragraph G - x. The metabolic strategies of crocodiles Location: Paragraph G Reference: "The two scientists believe that the ability of crocodiles to endure difficult circumstances and protracted starvation periods is undoubtedly the key to the crocodilian line's survival throughout history." Explanation: This paragraph explains how crocodiles use their slow metabolism to survive extreme conditions.
8. 250 Location: Paragraph B Reference: "The earliest ancestor of crocodiles appeared about 250 million years ago." Explanation: The passage states that crocodiles have existed for 250 million years, showing their long evolutionary history.
9. Body temperature Location: Paragraph C Reference: "Crocodiles, like other reptiles, are poikilothermic animals… they need regular exposure to sunlight to raise body temperature." Explanation: Crocodiles regulate their body temperature by moving between sunlight and shade, helping them survive.
10. Metabolism Location: Paragraph C Reference: "Crocodiles' slower metabolism makes them less susceptible to food shortages than mammals and birds." Explanation: Crocodiles can slow their metabolism, allowing them to survive for long periods without food.
11. Hunting skills Location: Paragraph D Reference: "Crocodiles are very effective at catching prey. Without making any noise or strong vibrations, crocodiles can catch their prey without the prey even being aware of it." Explanation: This shows how crocodiles use their hunting skills to capture prey without being detected.
12. tail Location: Paragraph D Reference: "The crocodile rushes forward when an ambush opportunity arises, knocks the animal unconscious with its strong tail." Explanation: Crocodiles use their powerful tails to stun prey before dragging them into the water.
13. Aestivation Location: Paragraph F Reference: "They enter what is known as aestivation, a quiescent state." Explanation: During dry seasons, crocodiles go into a dormant state called aestivation to survive harsh conditions.
