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An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae of the order Crocodilia. The two extant species are the American alligator ( A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator ( A. sinensis ). Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains.
The American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States and a small section of northeastern Mexico. It is one of the two extant species in the genus Alligator, and is larger than the only other living ...
Apr 30, 2024 · Alligator, either of two crocodilians classified in the genus Alligator and related to the tropical American caimans. Alligators can be differentiated from true crocodiles by the form of their jaw and teeth. Alligators possess a broad U-shaped snout and have an ‘overbite’; that is, all the teeth of the lower jaw fit within the teeth of the upper jaw.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Alligators Are Ancient. Alligators, along with other crocodilians, have undergone very little evolutionary change since the time of the dinosaurs. American alligators appeared about 84 million years ago, and their ancestors evolved more than 200 million years ago.
- They Can't Survive in Salt Water. Unlike crocodiles, alligators don't have the glands to excrete salt from their bodies, so they can't swim in saltwater habitats like mangrove swamps.
- They Can Weigh More Than 1,000 Pounds. The largest alligator ever measured was 15 feet, nine inches long and weighed in at 1,011.5 pounds. This gator was caught in Mill Creek, a tributary of a river in Alabama.
- Their Sex Is Determined by Temperature. One of the weirder facts about alligators is that the sex of them is determined not by DNA but, rather, by climate.
The American alligator is a rare success story of an endangered animal not only saved from extinction but now thriving. State and federal protections, habitat preservation efforts, and reduced ...
As an alligator's teeth are worn down, they are replaced. An alligator can go through 3,000 teeth in a lifetime. The sex of the juveniles is determined by the temperature of the eggs. Temperatures of 31 C (87.8 F) or below produce females, 32 C (89.6 F) produces 75 percent males and 32.5 C (90.5 F) and above are mostly females.
Apr 17, 2024 · The American alligator is a species of alligator inhabiting freshwater rivers, lakes, and swamps and brackish waters in the Southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It is one of the best-known living crocodilians. The species is one of two classified in the genus Alligator, the other being the Chinese alligator (A. sinensis).
