In the United States the largest recorded alligator was found in 1998 in Jackson County, Texas at 436.9 cm and weighing 408.23 kg. The weight of the American alligator depends on habitat, what food is available, and sex, but the average weight is 150 kg. The tail of the American alligator accounts for half of its overall body length. It is estimated that a male alligator stops growing at a length of 365.8 cm. A female is predicted to have stopped growing at age 45 with a length of 274.3 cm. In the female, after 20 years, lengths average 256.5 cm. By this time a male alligator is approximately 350.5 cm. A male alligator has an exponential growth rate until it is 20 years of age. Consequently, as a characteristic of sexual dimorphism, a male adult alligator is larger than a female alligator. However, once this length is attained, a female will continue to grow at a slower rate than a male. Until it is 91.4 cm long, both a male and female alligator will grow at similar rates. ( Bartlett and Bartlett, 2006 Campbell and Mazzotti, 2004 Neill, 1971)Īs a hatchling, an alligator is typically 22.9 cm long. Whereas the larger the alligator, the more likely it is to be found in open waters. The smaller the alligator, the more likely it is to be found in wetlands, where it uses the plant life as a means of protection from predators. A male alligator spends the majority of his time in open waters, while the female only ventures into open water during mating season. The first factor depends on the sex of the alligator because the female is more interested in protecting her young than the male. There are two main factors that contribute to habitat inclination for the American alligator. This gator hole is created as a safe haven against drought and irregular weather patterns.Īlthough the American alligator is sometimes seen on land, it is primarily an aquatic creature. These holes are made by the alligator using its snout and tail to burrow into the mud or soil until a suitable space is created. The American alligator has also been known to occupy man-made water structures such as swimming pools, fishponds, and dammed lakes in urban and suburban areas.Īn alligator can make a structure known as a gator hole in the ground. The most common areas to observe the American alligator are in marshes, swamps, rivers, ponds, and lagoons. ( Ouchley, 2013)Īlthough sometimes found in brackish water settings, the American alligator is most commonly found in freshwater environments of the temperate region due to its low tolerance for salt. A few examples of these non-native states are California, New Jersey, and Virginia. In some cases, formerly captive American alligators have been released into states outside of their geographic range. Other states where the American alligator can be found are South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. These creatures are found as far north as the tidal regions in North Carolina (35 degrees N latitude), to as far south as every county in Florida, and as far west as central Texas. 326, 2008, doi:10.Alligator mississippiensis is a crocodilian native to North America and is the crocodilian with the northernmost distribution worldwide. " Antibiotics from Alligators!" Nature Reviews Immunology, vol. " Mortality of American Alligators Attributed to Cannibalism." Herpetologica, vol. and Other Extraordinary Tales from the Animal World." 2012.ĭelany, Michael, et al. " American Alligator." Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.īright, Michael. " Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Crocodilians: an Overlooked Form of Saurochory?" Journal of Zoology, vol. " American Alligator." National Park Service, Barataria Preserve Natural History Series. " If You See an Alligator." Texas Parks and Wildlife. " American Alligator." National Park Service, Big Cypress National Preserve. " Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems." National Science Foundation. " Paleoecology of Miocene crocodylians in Florida: Insights from stable isotope analysis." Palaegeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. Whiting, Evan T., David W Steadman, and John Krigbaum. Wu. " Alligator sinensis." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T867A3146005. Accessed on 08 July 2022. " Alligator mississippiensis." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T46583A3009637. Accessed on 08 July 2022.
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