Alligator is an animal that people usually cause in fear. But at the same time, many people treat him with interest, which is natural since alligators have their own, special way of life, quite unlike the life of other animals.
Alligators, like their closest relatives, crocodiles and caimans look like enlarged lizards. All of them belong to the class of reptiles or reptiles, the direct descendants of the largest animals – dinosaurs.
Alligator – a huge reptile length of more than 3 meters and weighing several hundred kilograms, perfectly feeling in the water and on land. It is one of the most bloodthirsty predators, feeding exclusively on animal food, capable of almost instantly killing not only a large animal, but also a human.
Alligators and crocodiles outwardly are very similar to each other, with so many that a knowledgeable person is unlikely to be able to tell them apart. And in this there is nothing surprising, because crocodiles and alligators are reptiles belonging to a group of aquatic vertebrates that have inhabited the earth for several million years. Of course, their ancient ancestors were much more, but at that time all the animals on earth had enormous sizes and only the glacial period stopped their development.
Reptiles managed to survive mainly because the aquatic environment of their habitat for millions of years has changed significantly. This explains their external similarity, although there is a difference. In the crocodile the muzzle is sharp and with the jaws closed, the fourth tooth projecting outwards is visible. The alligator has a more stupid face. Crocodiles are slightly larger in size than alligators. And crocodiles and alligators are cold-blooded animals, the temperature of its body is about 30 degrees.
The body of alligators for protection is covered with dense bone plates. The front paws of the alligators are shorter and have five fingers, and four fingers on the back. The mouth of the alligator is huge and powerful. In it are located from 74 to 84 teeth. At what, if the tooth is lost for some reason, then after a while it grows again.
The color of alligators is dark and depends on the color of the pond. If there is a lot of algae in the water, where they live, they have a greenish color. In marshy places, where there is a lot of tannic acid in water, the belly has a light brown, almost cream color. In murky water they are brown, sometimes almost black in color.
