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American Alligator

"Alligator mississippiensis"

J.A.C

Kingdom: Animalia

Animalia is also called Metezoa
The American Alligator is a unicellular eukaryotic organism
Most animals are diploid, meaning that the cells of adults contain two copies of the genetic material
Animals is characterized by distinctive stages, including a zygote, formed by the product of the first few division of cells following fertilization; a blastula, which is a hollow ball of cells formed by the developing zygote; and a gastrula, which is formed when the blastula folds in on itself to form a double-walled structure with an opening to the outside, the blastopore.
Animals range in size from no more than a few cells to organisms weighing many tons
Most animals inhabit the seas, with fewer in fresh water and even fewer on land.

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Phylum: Chordata

bilateral symmetry
segmented body, including segmented muscles
three germ layers and a well-developed coelom.
single, dorsal, hollow nerve cord, usually with an enlarged anterior end (brain)
tail projecting beyond (posterior to) the anus at some stage of development
pharyngeal pouches present at some stage of development
ventral heart, with dorsal and ventral blood vessels and a closed blood system
complete digestive system
bony or cartilaginous endoskeleton usually present.

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Class: Reptilia

One interesting aspect of alligator biology is that even though they don't hibernate, they undergo periods of dormancy when the weather becomes cold. They may excavate a cave in a waterway and leave a portion of it above water during this time. In areas where water level fluctuates, alligators dig themselves into hollows in the mud, which fill with water. These tunnels are often as long as 65 feet and provide protection during extreme hot or cold weather.

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Order: Crocodilia

3000 years ago there may have been a terrestrial crocodilian species on New Caledonia.
The can not live above 1000 meters above sea level
The nostrils are crescent-shaped and valvular, and set at the end of the snout, which allows breathing even when the animal is almost entirely submerged.
The American Alligator can be as long as 7 meters
The American Alligator can go as fast as 10 miles per hour
The American Alligator have four heart chambers

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Family: Alligatoridae

Female alligators usually remain in a small area. The males occupy areas greater than two square miles. Both males and females extend their ranges during the courting and breeding season. Young alligators remain in the area where they are hatched and where they are protected by their mother. After two to three years, they leave the area in search of food, or they are driven out by larger alligators.

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Genus and Species: Alligator : Alligator mississippiensis

The average adult size for a female is 8.2 feet
the average size for a male is 11.2 feet
Males can reach a weight of nearly half a ton
There are four short legs; the front legs have five toes while the back legs have only four toes
Alligators have a long snout that has nostrils at the end; this allows breathing to occur while the rest of the body is underwater
The large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a socket in the upper jaw and is not visible when the mouth is closed.
The skin on their back is armored with embedded bony plates called osteoderms or scutes.

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Fun Facts

American alligators are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers, swamps, marshes, and lakes. They can only tolerate salt water for brief periods because they do not have salt glands but they are found in coastal areas in brackish water.
Eighty percent of young alligators fall victim to birds and raccoons, bobcats, otters, snakes, large bass and larger alligators
When the American Alligator's eggs the baby alligators are 6 to8 inches long.

American alligators are found from the southern Virginia- and North Carolina border, along the Atlantic coast to Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico as far west as the Rio Grande in Texas.

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Art and Poetry

A poem about my animal

I have a little alligator, and I had named him Victorhe was so cute until he bit, me so I hit him and Victor said he was sorry.Victor now has learned his lesson, the will never do it again, One thing that victor tells youyou never, never, never, never, never everwant to hit your mother

Work Cited

"American Alligator." 2004. University of Michigan. 11 Feb 2004. <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html>.

Fiore, Carrie M. "Animal Kingdom." .

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Here are some websites that you can go to, to learn about alligators:

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/animals/species/4363.html

http://agrigator.ifas.ufl.edu/gators/

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/brittoncrocs/csp_amis.htm

http://www.ash.udel.edu/ash/zine/feature/alligators.html

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/expltx/eft/bbsp/alligators.htm

http://www.wildflorida.org/gators/faq/lwa.htm

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