This is an alligator. It has a wide snout.
A crocodile has a thin snout.
An alligator shuts its mouth. Its lower teeth are hidden.
A crocodile shuts its mouth. Big teeth stick out.
An alligator has bony plates on its skin. They are called scutes.
Alligators live in fresh water, in slow rivers and lakes.
It can stay in salty water only a short time.
It eats fish, turtles, birds and small mammals.
Young alligators have light stripes on dark bodies.
A mother alligator builds a nest of plants.
Words to know
- scutes: bony plates
