American Alligator

• The sex of the hatchlings is set by the nest temperature: above 34°C they are male, below 30°C female.
• It eats fish, turtles, snakes, birds and small mammals, matching its prey to its own size.
• It lives in freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps and marshes of the south-eastern United States.
• regeneraciónIt can partly regrow the tip of its tail after losing it, though without restoring full working bone or muscle.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)

Habitat and environment

Freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps and marshes of the south-eastern United States

Birth weight

~65 grams; 20-25 cm long

Size at birth

20-25 cm long on hatching, with yellow stripes on black that fade with age

Sexual maturity

10-12 years, on reaching roughly 1.8 m in length

Gestation / incubation

65-70 days

Litter / clutch size

20 to 50 eggs per clutch (up to 90 in exceptional cases)

Life expectancy in captivity

A documented record of up to 70-84 years (an animal called Saturn died in Moscow in 2020 at an estimated, unconfirmed, 84)

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; Dimensions.com; Amnéville Zoo; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Spot; Georgia DNR; Smithsonian National Zoo; CrocodileVsAlligator.com; National Wildlife Federation

The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.