List of largest reptiles
The list of largest reptiles includes living crocodilians that reach a length of and more, such as Orinoco crocodile ("Crocodylus intermedius"), American crocodile ("C. acutus"), Nile crocodile ("C. niloticus"), saltwater crocodile ("C. porosus"), gharial ("Gavialis gangeticus") and false gharial ("Tomistoma schlegelii"). The largest known crocodilian specimen measured and was shot in South America by Aimé Bonpland. Unconfirmed reports of larger crocodilians exist, but examinations of incomplete remains indicate a length of less than and a weight of less than . Table of heaviest living reptiles. The following is a list of the heaviest living reptile species, which  is dominated by the crocodilians. Unlike the upper weights of mammals, birds or fish, mass in reptiles is frequently poorly documented and many are subject to conjecture and estimation. Crocodilians. The largest known specimen among the living crocodilians was an Orinoco crocodile with a length of . A long gharial was killed in the Ghaghara River in Faizabad in August 1920. Male gharials reach an average length of . The largest known saltwater crocodile measured and was shot in Papua New Guinea. A long individual was captured alive in Mindanao in 2011. The largest Nile crocodile specimen was purported to be a  man-eater from Burundi named Gustave; it was thought to have been more than long. The extinct "Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni" was the largest true crocodile to exist, growing up to in length. The largest member of this family to ever exist was the extinct "Rhamphosuchus" from Miocene Asia, attaining a length up to possibly , though was more typically . Based on its fossils, the latter species was less massive and heavy than the other giant crocodilians, weighing an estimated 3 tonnes. The largest member of the family Alligatoridae is either the American alligator with the Black caiman sometimes growing to similar lengths , which have been confirmed to grow up to in length and weigh up to , not as large as the preceding crocodilians but still impressive. Unverified reports suggest lengths of up to for the black caiman and for the American alligator, but such lengths are probably exaggerated. The largest member of this family was the caiman-like "Purussaurus", from northern South America during the Miocene epoch. It grew to long and could weigh up to 8 tonnes, making it one of the largest crocodilians ever. Other contenders for the largest crocodilian ever include the late Cretaceous period "Deinosuchus", at up to  and . "Sarcosuchus imperator" of the early Cretaceous was found in the Sahara desert and could measure up to and weigh an estimated 3.5 tonnes, however it was not a crocodilian. Turtles (Testudines). The largest living turtle is the leatherback sea turtle ("Dermochelys coriacea"), reaching a maximum total length of and a weight of . The second largest extant testudine is the loggerhead sea turtle. It tends to weight slightly more average weight than the green sea turtle, and reaches more massive top sizes. The largest extant freshwater turtle is possibly the North American alligator snapping turtle ("Macrochelys temminckii"), which has an  unverified maximum reported weight of , although this is challenged by several rare, giant softshell turtle from Asia ("Rafetus" and "Pelochelys") unverified to and nearly in total length. The Galápagos tortoise ("Chelonoidis nigra") and the Aldabra giant tortoise ("Aldabrachelys gigantea") are considered the largest truly terrestrial reptiles alive today. While the Aldabra tortoise averages larger at , the more variable-sized Galapagos tortoise can reach a greater maximum size of and in total length. A much larger tortoise survived until about 2000 years ago, the Australasian "Meiolania" at about long and a weight of over 1 tonne. The tortoise "Colossochelys atlas", of  the Pleistocene era from what is now Pakistan and India, was even larger, at nearly and 2 tonnes. There are many extinct turtles that vie for the title of the largest ever. The largest seems to be the freshwater turtle "Stupendemys", with an estimated total carapace length of more than and weight of up to . A close contender is "Archelon ischyros", a sea turtle, which reached a length of across the flippers and a weight of over .