An alligator has a wide, rounded snout. A crocodile has a narrow snout. An alligator closes its mouth. Its lower teeth are hidden. A crocodile closes its mouth. Large teeth stick out.
Alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials make up one group called crocodilians. The family Alligatoridae has eight species, and only two are usually called alligators. The Chinese alligator is the only other species of alligator. Alligators are not lizards: scientists put lizards in a different order, Squamata.
The alligator is the largest reptile in the United States. This is true as of November 2026. Adult alligators weigh from 91 to 360 kilograms. The average is about 150 kilograms. Adult alligator lengths range from 257 to 437 centimeters. The average is about 350 centimeters. Female alligators rarely grow longer than 10 feet. Males can grow much larger.
As of November 2026, Florida's record alligator for length is a male of 14 feet 3 1/2 inches, from Lake Washington in Brevard County. As of November 2026, Florida's record alligator for weight is a male of 1,043 pounds, from Orange Lake in Alachua County.
A newly hatched alligator is about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long. Young alligators grow about a foot a year. Alligators are old enough to breed when they are about 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. As of November 2026, an alligator in the wild typically lives 20 to 30 years, and the longest recorded life of a wild alligator is 56 years. As of November 2026, the longest recorded life of a captive alligator is 73.1 years.
An alligator has upward-facing nostrils at the end of its snout, so it can breathe with the rest of its body under water. An alligator usually takes a breath of air every 20 or 30 minutes.
Small sensory spots are around an alligator's face and jaws. They feel pressure changes in the water. The spots on its jaws are more sensitive than a person's fingertips.
An alligator eats fish, turtles, birds and small mammals. Alligators hunt mostly at night. An alligator uses its sharp teeth to seize and hold food, and swallows small food whole.
An alligator has about 80 teeth, all the same size, and they are replaced rapidly throughout its life. An alligator can go through 3,000 teeth in its lifetime. The bite of a 12-foot, 665-pound American alligator was measured at 2,125 pounds of force.
Alligators live in fresh water, in slow rivers, swamps, marshes and lakes. American alligators live across the southeastern United States, from the northern coast of North Carolina to central Texas. The American alligator is the crocodilian with the northernmost range in the world. An alligator can stay in salty water only for a short time. A female alligator usually stays in a small area, while a male can range over more than two square miles.
Alligators were hurt by market hunting and loss of habitat. The alligator was listed as an endangered species in 1967. In 1987 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the alligator from the endangered species list. As of November 2026, the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the alligator as a species of least concern, and the main threat to alligators today is the loss of wetland habitat.
An alligator nest is made of plants. It is usually 7 to 10 feet across. A mother alligator builds the nest. She lays about 20 to 50 eggs in it. The temperature of the nest decides whether a baby alligator is a male or a female. A mother alligator may carry her hatchlings to the water in her mouth.
Words to know
- crocodilians: alligators and kin
- nostrils: nose openings
- species: kind of animal
- hatchlings: newly hatched young
- captive: kept in care
