Not synonyms at all: how alligators differ from crocodiles

Many people think that alligators and crocodiles are the names of the same animal, used on different continents. But in fact, crocodiles and alligators, as well as caimans and gavials belong to different families and have a number of differences, which we will talk about today.

The crocodile detachment (lat. Crocodylia) includes three families: real crocodiles, alligator and gavial. The alligator family, in turn, includes the genus of alligators and the genus of caimans. All crocodile animals are secondary-aquatic animals that, during evolution, moved to water from land. Representatives of this order belong to one of the oldest animals, whose ancestors appeared on Earth about 85 million years ago, back in the Cretaceous period, and were contemporaries of dinosaurs. Crocodile species live in warm tropical waters across the planet. They can be found in abundance in South America, Africa, India, on the continental and island territories of Southeast Asia, as well as in northern Australia.

Some differences between alligators, real crocodiles and caimans are visible to the naked eye.

Teeth

Representatives of the family of real crocodiles have 64-68 sharp teeth, which are visible with a closed mouth, among them the fourth tooth on the lower jaw is particularly prominent. But this is not observed with alligators, they have 74-80 teeth, depending on the type, and they cannot be seen with a closed mouth.

Head structure

Animals from different families have different head structures, which can be seen with the naked eye. In crocodiles, the muzzle is V-shaped, sharper, and in alligators blunt, with a wide nose. The gawials have a long and narrow muzzle; they can be easily distinguished from crocodiles and alligators by this feature.

Character and Nutrition

It is believed that real crocodiles are more aggressive than alligators or gavials, for this reason they are able to defeat very large prey and often attack people. But the gavials with their narrow, we can say gracefully crocodile face, can not defeat a large victim and are content with small animals.

Habitat

If alligators are able to live only in fresh water, then crocodiles are suitable and salty sea water. The fact is that in their body there is a special mechanism that regulates salt metabolism, and excess salt is eliminated from the body using special glands.

Range and number of species

Real crocodiles are the most prosperous representatives of the squad. There are 14 species, they live on the American continent, autocratically own Africa, where, in addition to them, there are no other representatives of the genus crocodiles, and also inhabit Southeast Asia and Australia. As we already know, there are two genera in the alligator family: alligators and caimans. The genus of alligators includes the American alligator, who lives in the southern part of the USA, and the very rare Chinese alligator, who lives in the Yangtze basin. And all three species of the caiman genus live in Central and South America. The Gavialovs, of which there are only 2 species, in the division of the world went only to India and the islands of Southeast Asia.