Webbed Feet: Penguins and Crocodiles, are they related?

Nile Crocodiles

Nile crocodiles have definitively developed a reputation as being an immense predator and threat to all life including man. With their powerful muscular body, terrifying jaws and 66 pointed sharp teeth, they can pretty much hunt anything successfully that has a bit of meat on the bone.

Although this is very impressive the section of the Nile Crocodile, I’m interested in is the back feet of the crocodile and in particular the webbed toes, as this is a unique trait that Nile Crocodile possesses. It has a very interesting function and role in the anatomy and physiology of the animal.

This trait has two functions that benefit its survival and daily life: swimming and griping and holding onto prey. These are both pretty remarkable adaptions that the reptile has developed over time and aids them massively in their aquatic and on-land habitats.

Emperor Penguins

Emperor Penguins are the greatest living penguin species on the planet and are an exceptionally resilient and adapted to the Antarctic conditions that they face every day. They are excellent swimmers and hunters that can dive up to depths of 200+ metres, which is more than any other bird species known to man.

The Emperor Penguin has many extraordinary skills and they have the exact same trait as the Nile Crocodile, webbed feet. There are a few functions for this trait in this species of penguin such as: swimming and balance when on-land. They use their feet to help them move through the water as fast as they can to catch prey and avoid predators, they can travel through the water at speeds of up to 12mph.

When on land they need all the grip and balance they can get due to the icy conditions. This is very important function, especially when the females are transferring the egg to the males, also when the males are incubating the egg and when the chick finally arrives. The webbed feet trait allows the penguins to gain a better grip and stay up right on the ice, most of the time as they are well known for their clumsiness. Overall, they’re a remarkable species that are well suited to their extreme habitat.

Are they related?

It’s quite a far-fetched question to ask if two completely different species could be related just because they have the same physical trait with similar functions. They come from two extremely different parts of the world and their habitats couldn’t be more conflicting, but yet they both have developed the same trait over time. The answer to the question is yes, they are not directly related but they have been in the past. Birds and Crocodiles do share a common ancestor and have developed many different traits over the evolutionary process and gone their separate ways. This is a perfect example of divergent evolution.

My thoughts…

It looks like the webbed feet trait has stood the test of time in both species, as it benefits both in their daily survival within their very distinctive habitats.