50 
CROCODILE. 
they supposed to be owing merely to the effect of 
climate. The American crocodile is distinguished 
by the name of alligator, which appears to have 
originated in the Spanish sailors remarking their 
great resemblance to a lizard, which they call 
lagarto. Our countrymen, when they arrived and 
heard the name, called the animal a lagato, whence 
at length was derived the word alligato, or alligator. 
