| Description | An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two living species are the American alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (A. sinensis). Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.
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| Source Data | |
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| Rank | genus |
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| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Crocodylia : Alligatoridae : Alligator |
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| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Crocodylia : Alligatoridae : Alligator |
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| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted |
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Classification
(PBDB,GBIF) | |
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| Common Name | alligator |
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| Scientific Name | Alligator Cuvier, 1807 |
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| Name Published In | Cuvier, Georges. 1807. Sur les différentes especes de crocodiles vivans et sur leurs caracteres distinctifs. Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris t.10: 8-66. |
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| Opinions (PBDB) | | Name | Rank | Opinion | Evidence | Author |
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| Alligator | genus | belongs to Dactylopodes | stated without evidence | Meyer, 1845 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Crocodilidae | stated with evidence | Cope, 1875 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Crocodylidae | stated without evidence | Hay, 1902 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatoridae | stated with evidence | White, 1942 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Neosuchia | stated without evidence | Wu et al., 1994 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatoridae | stated without evidence | Frank and Ramus, 1996 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatorinae | stated with evidence | Wu et al., 1996 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatoridae | stated without evidence | Lang and Guilette, 2002 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Mesoeucrocodylia | stated without evidence | Pol and Norell, 2004 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Neosuchia | stated without evidence | Zaher et al., 2006 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatorinae | stated with evidence | Snyder, 2007 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Neosuchia | stated without evidence | Larsson and Sues, 2007 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatorinae | stated with evidence | Jouve et al., 2008 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Globidonta | stated without evidence | Martin and Buffetaut, 2008 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Neosuchia | stated without evidence | Fiorelli and Calvo, 2008 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatorinae | stated with evidence | Martin and Lauprasert, 2010 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatoroidea | stated without evidence | Puértolas et al., 2011 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Neosuchia | stated with evidence | Nascimento and Zaher, 2011 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Alligatorinae | stated with evidence | Pinheiro et al., 2013 | | Alligator | genus | belongs to Globidonta | stated without evidence | Farke et al., 2014 |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant |
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| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 13 |
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| Extant Size (PBDB) | 3 (23%) |
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| First Recorded Appearance | 66.0 - 61.6 Ma
Paleocene |
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| Environment | marine (based on Mesoeucrocodylia) |
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| Motility | actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes) |
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| Diet | carnivore (based on Crocodylia) |
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| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) |
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| Primary Reference (PBDB) | R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution |
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| Common Name(s) | Alligators |
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| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator |
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| Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698 |
| Meyer H. v. System der fossilen Saurier [Taxonomy of fossil saurians], Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde 1845, 278-285 |
| Cope E. D. Check-list of North American Batrachia and Reptilia; with a systematic list of the higher groups, and an essay on geographical distribution. Based on the specimens contained in the U. S. National Museum, Bulletin of the United States National Museum 1, 1-109 |
| Hay O. P. (1902) , Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America. Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179, 1-868 |
| White T. E. (1942) A new alligator from the Miocene of Florida, Copeia 1942 1, 3-7 |
| Wu X.-C., Brinkman D. B., et al (1994) A new species of Shantungosuchus from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia (China), with comments on S. chuhsienensis Young, 1961 and the phylogenetic position of the genus, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 14 2, 210-229 |
| Frank N., Ramus E. (1996) A Complete Guide to Scientific and Common Names of Reptiles and Amphibians of the World, 1-377 |
| Wu X.-C., Brinkman D. B., et al (1996) A new alligator from the Upper Cretaceous of Canada and the relationships of early eusuchians, Palaeontology 39 2, 351-375 |
| Brochu C. A. (1999) Phylogenetics, Taxonomy, and Historical Biogeography of Alligatoroidea, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19 S2, 9-100 |
| Lang J. W., Guilette L. J. (2002) Crocodilians, The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians, 212-223 |
| Pol D., Norell M. A. (2004) A New Crocodyliform from Zos Canyon, Mongolia, American Museum Novitates 3445, 1-36 |
| Zaher H., Pol D., et al (2006) Redescription of the Cranial Morphology of Mariliasuchus amarali, and Its Phylogenetic Affinities (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia), American Museum Novitates 3512, 1-40 |
| Larsson H. C. E., Sues H.-D. (2007) Cranial osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Hamadasuchus rebouli (Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Cretaceous of Morocco, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 149, 533-567 |
| Snyder D. (2007) Morphology and systematics of two Miocene alligators from Florida, with a discussion of alligator biogeography, Journal of Paleontology 81 5, 917-928 |
| Fiorelli L., Calvo J. O. (2008) New remains of Notosuchus terrestris Woodward, 1896 (Crocodyliformes: Mesoeucrocodylia) from Late Cretaceous of Neuquen, Patagonia, Argentina, Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 66 1, 83-124 |
| Jouve S., Bardet N., et al (2008) The oldest African crocodylomorph: phylogeny, paleobiogeography, and differential survivorship of marine reptiles through the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28 2, 409-421 |
| Martin J. E., Buffetaut E. (2008) Crocodilus affuvelensis Matheron, 1869 from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: a reassessment, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 152, 567-580 |
| Martin J. E., Lauprasert K. (2010) A new primitive alligatorine from the Eocene of Thailand: relevance of Asiatic members to the radiation of the group, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158, 608-628 |
| Nascimento P. M., Zaher H. (2011) The skull of the Upper Cretaceous baurusuchid crocodile Baurusuchus alberoi Nascimento & Zaher 2010, and its phylogenetic affinities, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163, S116-S131 |
| Puértolas E., Canudo J. I., et al (2011) A new crocodylian from the late Maastrichtian of Spain: Implications for the initial radiation of crocodyloids, PLoS One 6 6, e20011:1-12 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020011 |
| Pinheiro A. E. P., Fortier D. C., et al (2013) A new Eocaiman (Alligatoridae, Crocodylia) from the Itaborai Basin, Paleogene of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Historical Biology 25 3, 327-337 doi:10.1080/08912963.2012.705838 |
| Farke A. A., Henn M. M., et al (2014) Leidyosuchus (Crocodylia: Alligatoroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous Kaiporowits Formation (Late Campanian) of Utah, USA, PaleoBios 30 3, 72-88 |
| CoL2006 - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| Nomenclator Zoologicus. A list of the names of genera and subgenera in zoology from the tenth edition of Linnaeus, 1758 to the end of 2004. Digitised by uBio from vols. 1-9 of Neave (ed.), 1939-1996 plus supplementary digital-only volume. http://ubio.org/NomenclatorZoologicus (as at 2006). - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| SN2000: Brands, S. J. (compiler) 1989-2005. Systema Naturae 2000. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2006 version). Available online at http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| as per family - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Opinion 92 Sixteen generic names of Pisces, Amphibia, and Reptilia placed in the Official List of Generic Names.Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 73(4), 3 (1926) - via Official Lists and Indexes of Names in Zoology |
| R. Anim., 2 - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| SN2000, PaleoDB - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera |
| Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes, 2004: null. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada, draft (2004). - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| King, F. W., and R. L. Burke, eds., 1989: null. Crocodilian, Tuatara, and Turtle Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
| Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner, 1987: Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. 79. - via Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) |
Alligator
Florida, USA