When bringing a rig into Maya, you might need to pay attention to the script editor. You can import scripts in the editor in order for it to be implemented into Maya.
You can create sets for controlling parts of a rig in the script editor. Selecting the controls you would like to be in a set, in the Script Editor selecting them
Jaw flaps and mouth shapes can be sounded out in a mirror to get an understanding of what the mesh should look like.
Phonemes are the smallest individual units of sound that are combined to form speech. A phoneme shape refers to the position of the lips, teeth, tongue, and jaw required to utter a phoneme, or a specific sound of speech.
Reference for different long sword stances
Well isolated audio of an Alligator bellowing. A loud, deep type of guttural growl. I really cool piece of audio I'd like to incorporate into my animation.
Another reference I found for the crocodile model was of a crocodile slightly jumping and chomping down on some meat.