ALLIGATOR
			Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Chordata Reptilia Crocodylia Alligatoridae

Alligators are large, scaly reptiles that live on the banks of rivers and in the water. There are two species: the American alligator and the endangered Chinese alligator. The American alligator is the larger of the two, the record length being over 19 feet (5.84 m). American alligators live in the southeastern United States. Chinese alligators are found only in the Yangtze River basin.

Alligators are similar to crocodiles. The main difference between crocodiles and alligators is in the teeth. When an alligator's mouth is shut, the upper teeth lie outside the lower teeth with its fourth lower tooth hidden in a pit in the upper jaw. With crocodiles, the teeth in the upper and lower jaws are in line and the fourth lower tooth is visible when the jaws are closed. An alligator also has a broader, shorter head and a blunter snout than a crocodile. Also, alligators have tongues while crocodiles do not.

Alligators eat fish, small mammals, and birds. Each adult female lays 15 to 80 eggs in a nest mound she has made from mud and rotting vegetation. The heat produced by this decaying process helps to hatch the eggs two to three months later. Immediately following the birth process, she removes the vegetation to assist her hatchlings, and remains close to her young.