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Definition: alligator from Philip's Encyclopedia

Broad-snouted crocodilian reptile found only in the USA and China. Alligator mississippiensis is found in the SE USA; it grows up to 5.8m (19ft) long. The endangered Chinese alligator, A. sinensis, is restricted to the Yangtze-Kiang river basin. Length: up to 1.5m (5ft). Family Alligatoridea.

alligator

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator , in the same order as the crocodile . There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways. They have broader, blunter snouts, which give their heads a triangular appearance; also, the lower fourth tooth does not protrude when the mouth is closed, as it does in the crocodile. The American alligator , Alligator mississipiensis , is found in swamps and sluggish streams from North Carolina to Florida and along the Gulf Coast. When young, it is dark brown or black with yellow transverse bands. The bands fade as the animal grows, and the adult is black. Males commonly reach a length of 10 to 13 ft (3 to 4 m) and an average weight of 500 lbs (225 kg); females are smaller (8.2 ft/2.6 m). Males 18 ft (5.4 m) long were once fairly common, but intensive hunting for alligator leather eliminated larger individuals and threatened the species as a whole. The…
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Full text Article Alligator

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
When the Spaniards first saw this reptile in the New World, they called it el lagarto , ‘the lizard’, which was corrupted into ‘alligator’. In US slang, ‘alligator’ was a term for ‘a Mississippi River keel-boat sailor’, derived from the real or supposed battles of early boatmen with alligators. …
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Full text Article alligator

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Reptile of the genus Alligator , related to the crocodile. There are only two living species: A. mississipiensis , the Mississippi alligator of the southern states of the USA, and A. sinensis from the swamps of the lower Chang Jiang River in China. The former grows to about 4 m/12 ft, but the latter…
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Full text Article alligator

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator , in the same order as the crocodile . There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways. They have broader, blunter snouts, which give their heads a…
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Full text Article alligator

From The Oxford Companion to Food
an animal now better known as food than its slightly larger relations, the various species of crocodile . A tradition of eating alligator in the south of the USA, especially Louisiana, seemed likely to die out when fears that the alligator would become extinct caused it to be given protected status; …
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Full text Article ALLIGATOR

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
American writer Nothing looks more contented than a resting alligator. The mouth falls naturally into a crumpled smile, the eyes half close in a sleepy sort of way… The Moon by Whale Light, and Other Adventures Among Bats and Crocodilians, Penguins and Whales Chapter 2 (p. 60 ) Random House, Inc. …
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Full text Article ALLIGATOR (Alligator mississippiensis)

From Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink
A large, lizard-like reptile that may grow up to nineteen feet in length. It is a dangerous denizen of the swamplands of Florida, Louisiana, and the other Gulf states and was introduced into the Rio Grande in Texas. The name is from the Spanish el lagarto , “lizard,” and ultimately from the Latin…
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Full text Article alligator

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) Credit:P....
Either of two species of long-snouted reptiles constituting the genus Alligator (family Alligatoridae, order Crocodilia). Alligators differ from crocodiles in snout shape and tooth placement. Living in large bodies of water such as lakes, swamps, and rivers, these lizardlike carnivores use their…
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Full text Article alligators in sewers

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
A well-known urban legend (attaching particularly to the city of New York) which may actually have some basis in fact. One of the more popular urban legends revolves around the assertion that there are alligators living in the sewers under the streets of New York. The source of these alligators is…
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The first crocodilians. Crocodiles appeared with...
Large, scaly reptiles including crocodiles and alligators are collectively knownas crocodilians. They live on land and in water and are excellent swimmers, usingtheir tails to propel themselves along. Their jaws are strong enough to crush boneswhen they close, but so weak when they open, that they…
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Full text Article Alligator (Submarine)

From The Big Idea: How Breakthroughs of the Past Shape the Future Full text Article Transportation & Space Exploration
Date: 1862 Think submarines are a recent naval invention? Not so. The U.S. Navy's first submarine, called the Alligator , was used during the American Civil War. Commissioned by the Navy in 1862, the 47-foot-long craft seemed doomed to failure. It was propelled by an oar system and could not…
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