In our article, we would like to talk about one of the representatives of the crocodile family. The Mississippi alligator differs from other brethren in a rather wide and flat face. The jaw of this crocodile is very wide, with powerful muscles, it is much stronger than the jaw of any other reptile.
Where does the Mississippi alligator live?
This variety of crocodiles is also called pike or American alligator. It lives in the southeastern region of the United States. At the moment, it can be found only south of Virginia, in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, North Carolina and South, Georgia and Arkansas. The largest and largest population lives in the swamps of Florida.
Alligator Appearance
The Mississippi alligator differs from its counterparts in a wide, flat, but very long muzzle. An interesting fact is that crocodiles living in captivity have a wider muzzle than wild representatives. This is primarily due to the characteristics of nutrition.
The nostrils are located on the very edge of the jaws, this allows the animal to breathe and at the same time remain invisible to others, since his whole body is immersed in water.
Adult individuals living in the wild are divided into two species:
- Thin and long.
- Wide and short.
Such differences are associated with the nuances of nutrition, climate features and other factors. The alligator’s main weapon is its muscular tail.
The Mississippi alligator also has its own structural features. The integuments of the body are shields. Four of them are located in the back of the head. And in the middle part of the body there are dorsal scutes. The skin on the sides has bone plates. But the abdominal bone shell is completely absent.
The Mississippi alligator, whose limb structure is distinguished by its own characteristics, has a fairly large body size with short legs. There are five fingers on the front, and four on the back. On the front legs there is even a swimming membrane.
Mississippi alligator, whose teeth have a special structure, boasts a large number of them. As a rule, their number ranges from seventy-four to eighty pieces.
Outwardly, young individuals are no different from adults, apart from the bright yellow stripes on a black background, which help to mask perfectly.
The difference between a crocodile and an alligator
It is a mistake to assume that there is no difference between them. The difference between a crocodile and an alligator is that the first is larger than the second. In addition, the crocodile has a long and elongated face, but the alligator snout is flattened and blunt.
Other differences:
- In the world at the moment there are two types of alligators, and crocodiles - thirteen.
- As for alligators, they live only in America and China. Crocodiles are found in Asia, Africa, Australia and America.
- An interesting fact is that crocodiles can live in salt water, they are adapted to such conditions. But alligators live only in fresh water.
Alligator Veil Color
The Mississippi alligator has a dark green back and a light yellow belly. Young individuals have an almost black back color with yellow spots on the tail. In adult animals, these inclusions darken.
It should be noted that the eastern and western alligators were historically isolated from each other. So, the eastern ones have white rims around the mouth, and their color is lighter. In adults, bright yellow spots, fading, acquire an olive, brown or black color, although the rest of the color does not change. The American alligator has, as a rule, green eyes, but sometimes they can be of other colors.
Weight and dimensions of the animal
A large crocodile reaches four and a half meters, and sometimes animals of five meters in length are also found. The maximum value recorded by humans is 5.8 m. Females, as a rule, have a three-meter length.
Animals weigh from two hundred to three hundred kilograms. It is said that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the last alligators were killed weighing half a ton, although these facts are not confirmed.
How many alligators live?
As for life expectancy, it is recorded that the Mississippi alligator in captivity lived sixty-six years. And other data indicate a life expectancy of eighty-five years.
What sounds do alligators make?
It may erroneously seem that the American alligator is a silent creature. But this is not at all true. Moreover, it is a very loud and scary animal. Cubs make awkward croaking sounds. But adults in the mating season emit a very loud roar. They say that these sounds can be compared with distant thunder or with explosions when they jam the fish. Imagine that if several males make sounds together, then the whole swamp shakes and pulsates from this.
Habitat
Mississippi alligator is found in a fairly diverse body of water with fresh water. They prefer places with slowly flowing streams of water. It can be freshwater lakes, swamps, rivers, ponds among peat bogs. Here are water bodies where the water is salty, the alligator does not like it. Of course, it can for some time be in salt waters, such as, for example, in the mangrove swamps of South Florida. Interestingly, quite often a large crocodile is found next to human housing.
Females usually live within a lake or swamp. But the males capture more vast territories - more than two square miles.
Enemies of formidable animals
It may seem unrealistic, but the alligator (photo is in the article) also has enemies. It would seem, who can threaten such a predator?
It turns out that for young and newborn animals, lynx, raccoons, and large wading birds are dangerous. Large males sometimes engage in cannibalism, which, in principle, is uncharacteristic for them. By the age of two, they grow to 90 centimeters in length. And from this moment they no longer have enemies. Unless, of course, not counting a person.
Alligator Nutrition
As you know, an alligator (animal photos are impressive) is a predator. The main food for him is fish. But at any opportunity, he may attack some animal.
Young individuals feed on crustaceans and insects, frogs and small fish. As they grow older, nutrition becomes more diverse. Adult amphibians use for food any terrestrial and aquatic creatures that they only come across: snakes, turtles, birds, small mammals.
In those regions where alligators are closely adjacent to humans, if they are hungry, dogs and pets can become their prey.
For humans, an alligator is not dangerous. But sometimes he can attack if he was somehow provoked or if he confused the child with a small animal. Sometimes the animal devastates the nets of fishermen, and in the case of severe hunger does not neglect the carrion.
Predator habits
I must say that the hunting habits of the alligator depend on the temperature of the water: if it drops below twenty-three degrees, then the animal's appetite and activity are sharply reduced.
On land alligators often rest with an open mouth, this is due to the process of thermoregulation. Through the mucous membranes, water evaporates faster.
Adults most often hunt in the water. They grab small prey and swallow it whole, but at first they drown large ones, and then they tear them to pieces. In general, these reptiles have serious patience; they expose only nostrils and eyes from the water. And in such a pose they watch their prey for hours. As a rule, in the recessed position, the alligator gently, imperceptibly moves around the entire reservoir and looks out for the victim.
These reptiles have the strongest bite among predators. This conclusion was reached by researchers who conducted experiments with a special measuring device. Alligators use such a strong mouth for biting the shells of turtles.
Interestingly, when immersed in water, the animal’s nostrils are closed by the edges of the skin, the ear holes also, even the circulation of organs stops, only the brain and the heart muscle work.
Staying in the water for the first twenty minutes, the alligator consumes half of the total supply of oxygen, and the rest consumes more economically for a hundred minutes.
In cool regions, these reptiles become inactive in the winter. The alligator pulls out a lair or hole under the shore and lives there for up to four months. At the same time, he moves little and eats little. There are times when alligators freeze in their hole, but if they have something to breathe, then they can survive until the ice melts.
They say that alligators with their tail knock down prey from the shore, but there is no reliable confirmation of this fact. Females of reptiles take great care of the offspring, they guard cubs from enemies for a long time. As a rule, from their own adult relatives, who can attack young animals during hunger.
