Alligator Facts

About the alligator

Only two alligator species survive today: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. Several more are extinct and known only from fossils. The group goes back a long way, first appearing in the late Eocene, about 37 million years ago. Alligators sit in the family Alligatoridae within the order Crocodilia, which ties them to crocodiles and the rest of that clan.

The name has a Spanish root. In Florida, early Spanish explorers and settlers referred to it as el lagarto, meaning the lizard, and English speakers bent that into alligator. Early English spellings wandered quite a bit, including allagarta and alagarto. What sets alligators apart is cold tolerance. They do best in subtropical and tropical places, yet near the northern edge of their range they can ride out colder winters.

Did you know?

• The American alligator is A. mississippiensis, and the Chinese alligator is A. sinensis.
• Alligators can live in climates much more temperate than most other crocodilians can handle.
• In casual speech, an alligator often goes by the short name gator.