Alligator
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
- Alligator (Spanish el lagarto,”the lizard”), common name for two carnivorous reptiles in the crocodilian order.
- Alligators and their close relatives the caimans have broad, flat, and rounded snouts, as opposed to the longer, sharper snouts of other crocodilians; also unlike other crocodilians, their lower teeth cannot be seen when their mouths are closed.
- Alligators feed on fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, birds, mammals, and carrion. In North America they are also known to attack humans occasionally.
- Alligators can survive a wider range of temperatures than other crocodilians, and they are found in more temperate regions.
- Their breeding season is generally restricted to spring.
- Scientific classification: Alligators constitute the genus Alligator, family Crocodylidae.
- They are sometimes recognized as a separate family, Alligatoridae.
- The Chinese alligator is classified as Alligator sinensis and the American alligator as Alligator mississipiensis.
