English: American Alligator.Spanish: alligator, from Spanish “el legarto” meaning “the lizard”. Greek:
Crocodilia, from the Greek “krokodeilos” meaning lizard.
Clades:
Crocodylidae; Crocodylia;
Reptilia; Vertebrate; Cordata;
Animals.
ZoologyCrocodilians are the most advanced of all reptiles. They have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), diaphragm, an advanced hard palate, a highly efficient respiratory system and a cerebral cortex that is very similar to that of birds. Their anatomy can be likened to a combination of reptile, mammal and bird.
Crocodilians can be described as elongated, armored and lizard like with a muscular blade shaped tail used in swimming, balance and communication. Alligators reach up to 6 metres long. They are gray to black in color, although juveniles have 10 to 11 narrow yellow cross bands on the tail. Eyes are silverish. Crocodilians have a very fine sense of hearing. They can be very active and take a long time to recover from any exertion.
Crocodilians represent the last remnants of the great age of reptiles or dinosaurs. They were contemporaneous with and sometimes predators on the dinosaurs. They varied in size from very small to very large and lived in many habitats. The largest of them was Deinosuchus with an overall length of 11 metres and weighing 6 tons.
Mythology.Mythologically, the crocodilians have been associated with greed and hypocrisy, as well as being judges of guilt and innocence.
Also, crocodilians are mythologically connected to the underworld and to death.