These orange crocodiles are mutating into a new species

They live in an African cave and no similar specimens have been found anywhere else in the world.

Animals such as the one in the image give us the opportunity to study how the birth of a new species takes place. The specimen is one of Gabon's so-called orange crocodiles. These unique animals were discovered in 2008 inside a cavern in the African country. Only about thirty specimens have been found, but it is suspected that there may be more in other caves connected to it.

They are smaller than normal crocodiles, so they could be considered midgets, and feed on bats. When they have not yet reached their maximum size, they are able to slair outdoors through small cracks. But when they reach adulthood, they spend the rest of their lives confined within the cavern. How they got there, it's still a mystery. And it is not yet known where they mate or where they lay their eggs.

The worst thing that catches the attention of these specimens is their orange colour. It is due to a chemical reaction produced in your skin by the bat droppings that accumulate in your habitat. Although most surprising of all, researchers have discovered that these crocodiles lack a haplotype (a set of inherited genetic variade) that they do own the rest of this species. This means that these animals are initiating a process of mutation that can lead them to become a completely different species.

It should also be noted that crocodiles like these have not been found anywhere else in the world.