Crocodiles are usually depicted waiting ominously in the water or waddling across the ground; most people don't picture them sitting in trees.
New research suggests the reptiles can climb trees as far as the crowns, a University of Tennessee news release reported.
The researchers looked at crocodilian basking behavior in Australia, Africa and North America and looked at past research to make their findings.
The team found four species that climbed onto branches above the water, and how high they went depended on their size; the smaller reptiles being able to climb higher than the heavier ones. Some of the crocodiles were observed as high as about 13 feet (four meters) and as far out over the water as about 16 feet (five meters).
"Climbing a steep hill or steep branch is mechanically similar, assuming the branch is wide enough to walk on," the authors wrote, the news release reported. "Still, the ability to climb vertically is a measure of crocodiles' spectacular agility on land."
The crocodiles would exhibit this behavior both during the day and night, and would drop from the branches if approached at a distance of about 32 feet (10 meters). The crocodile's skittishness while on the branches led the researchers to believe the behavior was related to "thermoregulation and surveillance of habitat," the news release reported.
"The most frequent observations of tree-basking were in areas where there were few places to bask on the ground, implying that the individuals needed alternatives for regulating their body temperature," the authors wrote, the news release reported. "Likewise, their wary nature suggests that climbing leads to improved site surveillance of potential threats and prey."
The research shows some species of crocodiles have the ability to climb, despite lacking known morphological adaptations that would allow them to possess that ability.
"These results should be taken into account by paleontologists who look at changes in fossils to shed light on behavior," Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology said in the news release. "This is especially true for those studying extinct crocodiles or other Archosaurian taxa."
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