56 LORICATA. CROCODILID^. 



Genus Alligator, (Cuv.) 



A broad obtuse muzzle, with uneven teeth, 

 marks the genus before us ; the fourth tooth on 

 each side of the lower jaw enters into a cavity 

 of the upper jaw, and not into an interspace of the 

 opposite teeth ; the webs of the hind feet are 

 small, and extended only between the bases of 

 the toes ; the feet are not fringed or pectinated at 

 the sides ; and finally there are no holes, or very 

 minute ones, in the skull, behind the orbits. 



The five species which constitute this genus 

 are peculiar to America, one being an inhabitant 

 of the southern United States, and the four others 

 of the tropical part of South America. It is 

 worthy of remark, that while the islands of the 

 West Indies possess species of the genus Cro- 

 codilus, which is common to both hemispheres, 

 the Alligators are exclusively continental. The 

 former are frequently seen in the brackish waters 

 at the mouths of rivers, the latter never. 



The term Alligator is commonly considered 

 as a corruption of the Portuguese word lagarto, 

 signifying a lizard ; and it has been applied by the 

 British colonists, not only to the species which 

 inhabits the United States, but also to those in- 

 habiting the West Indian Isles, though, as we 

 have already intimated, the latter are genuine 

 species of the restricted genus Crocodilus. Those 

 of the South American continent bear the appel- 

 lation of Caiman, which is probably a word of 

 Indian origin. 



In temperate climates, at least, the Alligators ap- 

 pear to hybernate; as winter di'aws near, they bury 



