Alligator

Also known as alligators, gator, gators

An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae in 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. Alligators first appeared during the late Eocene epoch about 37 million years ago.

AI overview

An alligator is a large reptile belonging to the family Alligatoridae, with two living species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. Alligators are scientifically significant as ancient reptiles that have existed for approximately 37 million years, making them important subjects for understanding the long evolutionary history of crocodilians.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Species

Alligator

GENUS

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassCrocodylia
FamilyAlligatoridae

Habitatbrackish, freshwater

Observations recorded87,653

via GBIF

Wikidata facts

Image: Two american alligators.jpg

Show 4 more facts

Commons category: Alligator
taxon name: Alligator
Commons gallery: Alligator
start time: 37000000-0

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~19 min read

Article

17 sections

Contents

Evolution
Phylogeny
Species
Extant
Extinct
Description
Habitat
Behavior
Diet
Reproduction
Anatomy
Human uses
Differences from crocodiles
Image gallery of extant species
See also
References
External links

The term "alligator" is likely an anglicized form of '', Spanish for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. Early English spellings of the name included allagarta and alagarto''.