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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.
The American alligator was first classified in 1801 by French zoologist François Marie Daudin as Crocodilus mississipiensis.In 1807, Georges Cuvier created the genus Alligator for it, [14] based on the English common name alligator (derived from Spanish word el lagarto, "the lizard").
Alligatorinae is cladistically defined as Alligator mississippiensis (the American alligator) and all species closer to it than to Caiman crocodylus (the spectacled caiman). [ 8 ] [ 9 ] This is a stem-based definition for Alligatorinae, and means that it includes more basal extinct alligator ancestors that are more closely related to living ...
Genus Alligator – Cuvier, 1807 – two species Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population American alligator. A. mississippiensis Daudin, 1801: Southeastern United States: Size: up to 450 kg (990 lb) Habitat: Wetlands (inland), intertidal marine, and coastal marine [2] Diet: [2] LC
Alligator sinensis Chinese alligator Alligator mississippiensis American alligator The below detailed cladogram shows one proposal for the internal relationships within Alligatoridae including fossil species, based on morphological analysis [ 6 ] (although the exact alligatoroid phylogeny is still disputed).
The Chinese alligator was scientifically described by French naturalist Albert-Auguste Fauvel in 1879 as Alligator sinensis; though Fauvel only noticed mentions of them in Chinese literature since about 222–227 CE. [14] [15] The genus Alligator had previously contained only the American alligator since its creation in 1807. [16]
Articles relating to the genus Alligator. 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.
An alligator nest at Everglades National Park, Florida, United States Alligator olseni forelimb Alligator prenasalis fossil. The superfamily Alligatoroidea is thought to have split from the crocodile-gharial lineage in the late Cretaceous, about 80 million years ago, but possibly as early as 100 million years ago based on molecular phylogenetics.