American Alligator: 2012

Friday, January 6, 2012

The alligator has a very complex muscular system, but the two main contributers are in the jaw and the tail
The jaw muscles allow it the open and close in a fast agressive way to trap any size prey
The tail muscles allow them to swim up to 25mph
Alligators have two rows of teeth for an effedtive bite
There are bone plates inside the skin on their back (scutes) that make the skin hard to penetrate
Alligators also have webed feet halp them swim
Although alligators are fast and dangerous in water they are very slow on land, but still very dangerous

The digestive system of the alligator is short and simple
In their mouth they have many rows of teeth, but they are not used for chewing, they're used for trapping and seizing prey
Their stomach consists of two parts, the gizzard and the digestive section
the gizzard has gastroliths to help digest food in the stomach and also works as a buoyancy controller
The food then passes through the intestine to the cloaca
Since alligators don't have a bladder their urine and wast exist through the cloaca which is an opening to the outside of their body

The average alligator can live up to 35 years in the wild and 50 yeas in captivity
They have no vocal chords
They can survive for 2-3 years with out eating
The average alligator brain weighs 8-9 grams
The eyes of a large alligator will glow red and those of a smaller one will glow green when a light is shined on them.
According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches long.
The largest alligator ever recorded measured 19 feet 2 inches and was found on Marsh Island, Louisiana.
The American Alligator is one of the very few animal to have been saved from the endangered specis list.
Scientists believe alligators are more than 150 million years old
The alligator’s name comes from the Spanish term, “el lagarto”, which means, "the lizard".

The alligator consists of oblong horny scales arranged in rows, parallel to the body
Bone plates inside skin called scoutes make skin hard to penetrate
Vibration sensors help detect the slightest vibrations to escape danger or react to prey

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Alligatoridae
Genus: Alligator
Species:Mississippiensis

The surface area of the lungs form into sections with small pockets for better gas exchange
They breath by changing the volume of the body cavity
As the muscles contract the volume of the body cavity increases forcing oxygen into the lungs
When the the muscle contract again the body cavity reduces forcing carbon dioxide out of the lungs

Reproduce in the spring
Start breeding at 8-10 years old
The male attracts his mate by bellowing to his "water dance"
The males perform a "water dance" by keeping their head and tail above water while their mid section is slightly submerged
As the male makes a bellowing noise his scales vibrate forcing the water to sprinkle around him
The females find vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud to build nest to lay their 20-50 large eggs
The temperature of the eggs determine the gender of the offspring
The mother stands by her eggs for the 65 day incubation period
When the young are ready to hatch they make a croaking noise, and their mother will dig them out of the nest
When the young are hatched they have yellow bands around their bodies and survive off of yolk masses in their stomachs for the first couple days
A baby alligator only stays with its mother for about five months before living on its own