No it has not, nor has it attained anything near that length given a critical view. A fairly famous claim exists of a 8.6 m (28 foot) long saltwater crocodile killed in Queensland in 1957. However, despite claims to the contrary, the one photo I know of absolutely involves forced perspective to make the crocodile appear as large as possible, as is typical of hunters posing with their kills. I’ve read that reportedly an examination of a voucher skull indicated the skull came from crocodile closer to 6.1 m (20 feet) than 8.6 m. The fact of the matter, is that measuring very large crocodiles is highly difficult, especially without killing the animal. Hunters often stretch the size of animals they kill. Lengths may be boosted by measuring them “along the curves” which can add a fair amount rather than the correct method of a straight line measurement. That leaves a combination of visual estimates from reputable sources, size estimates from skulls or skins of crocodile remains or scientifically measured crocodiles to go on for the closest thing to corroboration. Weights are even more difficult, transporting a scale that can weigh a whole animal of this magnitude is next to impossible in frequently muddy and watery wild regions. As well as individual variation in bulk, weight increases exponentially more so than length after crocodiles are mature, so that a crocodile a mere foot or two longer than another is not uncommonly more than twice as heavy.
The famous claimed 8.6 m specimen is not corroborated or verified.
Two photos of Lolong, a 6.17 m long crocodile caught in the Philippines and taken into captivity, although it unfortunately did not survive for long.
The saltwater crocodile is the only modern crocodilian to exceed 6.1 m (20 feet) in length in modern and verifiable specimens. A general picture emerges that 6.1 m or more specimens of saltwater crocodile are rare but not unprecedented. Lolong was a crocodile from the Philippines that was caught alive, unfortunately a far less common fate for big crocodiles (especially suspected man-eating ones) than being killed with high caliber hunting rifles, and scientifically measured. Lolong was 6.17 m (20.2 feet) long and weighed roughly 1075 kg (2370 lb). The neighboring , rival male of Brutus, a large male Australian crocodile at about 5.5 m (18.1 feet) long and missing a forelimb famous for visiting tourist ships that fed it, a male named Dominator, is estimated to be 6.1 m long and to weigh an estimated 1043 kg (2298 lb). Guinness Book of World Records of a saltwater crocodile from Odisha, India that is approximately 7 m (23 feet) in length, but seems to be exclusively a visual estimate. It is further estimated that a crocodile of this length may weigh up to 2000 kg (4400 lb). This giant has been named Mahishasura, or “the demon”. Mahishasura may not even be the only saltwater crocodile from this region to be in the 6.1 n or more size, The largest verified saltwater crocodile skull was from a specimen from Cambodia. It has a length of 76 cm (30 inches) and a mandibular length of 98.3 cm (38.7 inches). In life, such a specimen would be about 6.7 to 7 m (22–23 feet) long, close to the same visual estimated size of the bigger Odisha crocodile. So, I think the maximum length of a saltwater crocodile is approximately 7 m.
Dominator, an Australian saltwater crocodile estimated to be 6.1 m long.
A picture that may depict Mahishasura the giant saltwater crocodile from Odisha.
Some massive saltwater crocodile skulls.
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