There are habitat niches and there are habitat niches. A hot. clammy cave system in Gabon not only houses huge numbers of bats and crickets but a recently studied population of dwarf bat-eating crocodiles that stew in the abundant guano and turn orange as a result.
According to Live Science there is reason to believe that the crocodiles in question are morphing into a species separate from their nearby forest-dwelling cousins.
Dwarf crocodiles are well known. According to Britannica:
“(Osteolaemus tetraspis), the world’s smallest living crocodile species, growing to a maximum length of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) and a maximum weight of 45.4 kg (100 pounds). The species inhabits swamps and small freshwater streams in sub-Saharan western and central Africa, from Guinea east to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and south to northern Angola. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists the dwarf crocodile as a vulnerable species.””
The bat eating crocodiles in question live in the Abanda cave system in Gabon. That system has been studied since the early 2000s. It is a three level system with five main caves some of them more than 4 kilometers long. It is unknown how many dwarf crocodiles live there. How long they have lived there is also a question. It is speculated that mother crocodiles lay their eggs near the mouth of the caves. The hatchlings apparently quickly return to the cave and do not leave.
The area is quite remote and the researchers are advocating protections for the region and its orange cave dwellers.
There are at least three types of bats for the bat eatng crocodiles. They include Egyptian fruit bats, Sundevall’s roundleaf bats and Giant roundleaf bats.
Meanwhile, in other crocodile news it has recently been established that crocodiles “surf.” For decades reports of crocodiles spotted far out to sea have been recorded. Research partly financed by the late naturalist Steve Irwin has finally borne fruit. Salt water crocodiles can and do ride currents and ocean waves for many miles out to sea.