Crocodile in the context of "Bipedality"

Crocodilia (/krɒkəˈdɪliə/) is an order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles that are known as crocodilians. They appeared 83.5 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage) and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. Members of the crocodilian total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order includes the true crocodiles (family Crocodylidae), the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae). Although the term "crocodiles" is sometimes used to refer to all of these families, the term "crocodilians" is less ambiguous.

Extant crocodilians have flat heads with long snouts and tails that are compressed on the sides, with their eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head. Alligators and caimans tend to have broader U-shaped jaws that, when closed, show only the upper teeth, whereas crocodiles usually have narrower V-shaped jaws with both rows of teeth visible when closed. Gharials have extremely slender, elongated jaws. The teeth are conical and peg-like, and the bite is powerful. All crocodilians are good swimmers and can move on land in a "high walk" position, traveling with their legs erect rather than sprawling. Crocodilians have thick skin covered in non-overlapping scales and, like birds, have a four-chambered heart and lungs with unidirectional airflow.

Early European personifications of America, meaning the Americas, typically come from sets of the four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. These were all that were then known in Europe. The addition of America made these an even more attractive group to represent visually, as sets of four could be placed around all sorts of four-sided objects, or in pairs along the facade of a building with a central doorway.

A set of loose conventions quickly arose as to the iconography of the personifications. They were normally female, with Europe queenly and grandly dressed, and clearly the leader of the group. Asia is fully and richly dressed but in an exotic style, with Africa and America at most half-dressed, and given exotic props. One of the earliest and most persistent attributes for America was the parrot; these reached Europe by the early 16th century and were highly valued. The feather crown headdress, with the feathers standing up vertically, reflected the actual headgear of some American peoples. This personification was staged at Whitehall Palace in December 1613 by a dancer in The Somerset Masque wearing "a skin coat the colour of the juice of mulberries, on her head large round brims of many coloured feathers, and in the midst of it a small crown". A cornucopia, representing the new edible plants from the Americas, was a very common feature (although the familiar apple often seems the most prominent). America is often accompanied by an improbably placid caiman or alligator, reasonably comparable to Old World crocodiles, though the earliest images may show an exotic armadillo.

Lagos State (Yoruba: Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó, Gun: Ayìmátẹ̀n Awọnlìn tọ̀n) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, Lagos is the most populous state but has the smallest landmass in Nigeria. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with the Republic of Benin, Lagos State borders Ogun State to the north and east, making it the only Nigerian state to border only one other state. Named for the city of Lagos — the most populous city in Africa — the state was formed from the Western Region and the former Federal Capital Territory on 27 May 1967.

Geographically, Lagos State is dominated by bodies of water with nearly a quarter of the state's area being lagoons, creeks, and rivers. The largest of these bodies are the Lagos and Lekki lagoons in the state's interior with the Ogun and Osun rivers flowing into them. Many other rivers and creeks flow throughout the state and serve as vital means of transportation for people and goods. On land, non-urbanized areas are within the tropical Nigerian lowland forests ecoregion with natural areas containing threatened populations of mona monkey, tree pangolin, and hooded vulture along with a transitory population of African forest elephants. Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations along with African manatees and crocodiles.