If you’ve never seen an alligator or crocodile before, you might wonder which is the scariest. The truth is that these two animals are quite different, so it’s hard to say which is scarier.
But both reptiles are scary. They are very strong, and they can snap your body in half with their strong jaws. Let’s take a closer look at both these reptiles and see how they are different from each other.
Alligator vs. Crocodile
Alligators are bigger than crocodiles, and they live in freshwater. Crocodiles are smaller than alligators, and they tend to live in salt water. In addition, they also have different body shapes and sizes.
The Difference Between Alligators and Crocodiles
Many people think alligators and crocodiles are the same, but this is not true.
They share many features, such as sharp teeth and a long, powerful tail. There are some major differences between them. Keep reading to see the clear differences.
Physical Differences
The Shape of the Snout
Crocodile
Crocodiles have a narrower snout than alligators, with one long finger-like projection on each side for sensing prey underwater or on land.
They have two short legs with no webbed feet and an elongated body covered in bony plates called scutes, making it easy for them to slide through the water at high speed or crawl on land without being seen by their prey.
Crocodiles can be found mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and around the Nile River Valley in Egypt and Asia like India. They live near saltwater, which means that they need more saltwater than alligators do.
Alligator
Alligators have a wider snout than crocodiles, and they have four short legs with webbed feet.
They also have armored bodies, and their scales are not as hard as those of crocodiles.
Gators can be found in fresh water and saltwater worldwide, but only in the Americas do they live outside of Florida or Louisiana.
They can be found in habitats such as swamps, lakes, rivers, estuaries, marshes, ponds, bayous, tributaries of rivers with plenty of vegetation to hide under.
They are also more common in warmer climates with higher water levels during the summer months when vegetation is more abundant for them to eat.
The Jawline
Alligators are often mistaken for crocodiles because they live in the same habitats. One of the most noticeable differences is that alligators have a wider jaw than crocodiles, with two rows of teeth on the top of their mouth.
They also have fewer teeth in their lower jaw, which are shaped differently from those on a crocodile. Alligators have a more rounded snout and a larger head that extends past their eyes, while a crocodile’s head is not as wide as its body.
The Size and Weight
Alligators can grow up to 14 feet in length and weigh more than a thousand pounds. Their jaws can be more than 10 inches wide, and their bite can exert more than 4,000 pounds of pressure.
Alligators are powerful predators and will eat just about anything they can catch. They like to eat turtles, fish, crustaceans, and insects. They also have been known to eat small mammals, birds, and alligators.
Alligator teeth are designed to crush the shells of their prey. Alligators will often “test bite” something before consuming it to determine edible.
The average adult crocodile is about 6.6 ft long, weighing 450 pounds. The largest crocodile on record was a saltwater crocodile that measured 23 feet long and weighed 2,370 pounds.
Crocodiles are the most efficient aquatic predators globally, and they can eat almost anything that can fit into their mouths.
Family
Alligators and crocodiles are not the same animals. Crocodiles are native to Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, Central America, and South America.
Alligators are native to North America. The only place both crocodiles and alligators can be found is in Florida.
The two animals are distant relatives who share similar physical features like having armored scales and powerful jaws but differ in behavior.
Crocodiles are more likely to stay in the water, while alligators prefer to hunt on land.
Alligators and crocodiles belong to Crocodilia, which consists of 23 species. The name “crocodile” is derived from the Greek term krokodilos or krokodeilos, which means “lizard.”
Crocs are large reptiles that feed on fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. They are considered dangerous animals because they can kill humans with sharp teeth and powerful jaws.
Crocodiles have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars. And molars. Alligator teeth are broader than crocodile teeth because they have no canine teeth.
Crocodiles use their canine teeth to seize prey, while alligators use their jaws to crush the bones of their victims. Alligators have 68-80 baby teeth, while crocodiles have 70-86.
There are two main species of alligators in the world: American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) and Chinese alligators (Alligator sinensis).
There are five subspecies of crocodiles, including Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus), South American slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops rosenbergi), Indo-Pacific saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and Siamese crocodile or estuarine saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis).
Alligators and Crocodiles Characteristics Comparison
Alligators and crocodiles are not the same animals. Crocodiles are native to Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, Central America, and South America.
Alligators are native to North America.
The only place both crocodiles and alligators can be found is in Florida. The two animals are distant relatives who share similar physical features like having armored scales and powerful jaws but differ in behavior.
Crocodiles are more likely to stay in the water, while alligators prefer to hunt on land.
Final Thoughts
Crocodiles and alligators are two of the most well-known reptiles in North America. They live in the same habitats, and both feed on fish, turtles, and mammals such as deer.
However, crocodiles and alligators do have some differences. For example, crocodiles have a much broader snout than alligators.
They also have different teeth, with crocodiles having more pointed teeth than alligators. Crocodiles also have a much broader tail than an alligator does.
Crocodiles are some of the most ancient reptiles. They have been on the planet for more than 200 million years. Crocodiles and alligators are similar in that they both have a long snouts with sharp teeth.
However, when comparing crocodiles to alligators, crocodiles have a longer and broader snout and a much broader lower jaw.
This allows them to open their mouths very wide. The broad lower jaw also creates the “sail” seen in many species of crocodiles. The “sail” is caused by the skin stretched across the lower jaw as it opens wide. Alligator jaws are not broad, so they do not have this feature.
Alligators have 3 rows of teeth, whereas crocodiles only have 2 rows. When a crocodile loses its teeth, it does not grow any new ones to replace them, but an alligator will grow new teeth in its place.
Also, alligator jaws are generally smaller than those of a crocodile.
This is because an alligator’s skull is much smaller than a crocodile’s skull. Lastly, where an alligator has 4 toes on its front feet and 5 toes on its back feet, a crocodile only has 4 toes on each foot.
