Did
you know....
1. All these species belong to the family Crocodylidae, they
date back some 230 million years to the Triassic period, the time
of the dinosaurs.
2.
Alligators have lived unchanged for the past 65 million years, perfectly
suited for their station in life.
3.
Compared to the Crocodile, Alligators have short, rounded snouts while
Crocodiles and longer and tapered snouts. Gharials have a thin and
extremely long snout. Caimans also have a short and blunt snout.
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| Caiman
(Caiman Crocodilus) In Pantanal Swamp, Brazil |
| Lonely
Planet Images |
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pictures |
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4.
Caimans are the smallest of the family only gaining a length of around
six feet. The Gharial can reach lengths of over 20 feet while Crocodiles
can be between six up to and over twenty-three feet in length.
5.
The word alligator comes from the Spanish word "el lagarto"
meaning "the lizard." Caiman is a Spanish term for "alligator"
or any crocodilian.
6.
Depending on the size of the gator - they eat anything from snails
to frogs, and insects to turtles, snakes and small mammals.
7.
Breeding season begins in April,after mating females construct a nest
using their back feet to create a mound of mud, vegetation and sticks.
When she has finished doing this she will deposit eggs into the mound,
as the vegetation breaks down it will keep the eggs warm enough for
hatching. She will normally lay between 40-45 eggs, the gestation
of which will be around 65 days. She will fiercely guard her nest
and eggs during this time, once they hatch she will uncover the nest
and may help her hatchlings get to water. She will defend them and
guard them until the next breeding season begins.
8.
The biggest recorded alligator was caught in Louisiana in the early
1900s, the length of which was 19 feet 2 inches.
9.
Gharial's jaws are studded with sharp close-set teeth, their skulls
are compared to a frying pan.. with the skull itself being flat and
the snout being the handle.
10.
Alligators and Crocodiles jaws both work the same - the top jaw is
an extension of the skull while the bottom is hinged. Unlike general
belief, they are not immune to snake poisons, they do have extremely
tough skin and their back is protected by scutes, bony plates, which
could prevent snakes from being able to inject venom into them.
