Functioning salt glands: Crocodilians have modified salivary glands called salt glands on their tongues, but while these organs still excrete salt in crocodiles and gharials, those in most alligators and caimans have lost this ability, or excrete it in only extremely small quantities. [60] The ability to excrete excess salt allows crocodiles to better tolerate life in saline water and migrating through it. [60] Because alligators and caimans have lost this ability, they are largely restricted to freshwater habitats, although larger alligators do sometimes live in tidal mangroves and in very rare cases in coastal areas. [60] Oaks, J.R. (2011). "A time-calibrated species tree of Crocodylia reveals a recent radiation of the true crocodiles". Evolution. 65 (11): 3285–3297. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01373.x. PMID 22023592. S2CID 7254442. Hastings, A. K.; Bloch, J. I.; Jaramillo, C. A.; Rincon, A. F.; MacFadden, B. J. (2013). "Systematics and biogeography of crocodylians from the Miocene of Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (2): 239. Bibcode: 2013JVPal..33..239H. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2012.713814. S2CID 83972694.

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Fish, Frank E.; Bostic, Sandra A.; Nicastro, Anthony J.; Beneski, John T. (2007). "Death roll of the alligator: mechanics of twist feeding in water". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 210 (16): 2811–2818. doi: 10.1242/jeb.004267. PMID 17690228. S2CID 8402869. The name "alligator" is likely an anglicized form of el lagarto, the Spanish term for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. [2] Early English spellings of the name included allagarta and alagarto. [3] Evolution Farmer, C. G.; Sanders, K. (January 2010). "Unidirectional Airflow in the Lungs of Alligators". Science. 327 (5963): 338–340. Bibcode: 2010Sci...327..338F. doi: 10.1126/science.1180219. PMID 20075253. S2CID 206522844. Gabrey, S. W. 2005. Impacts of the coypu removal program on the diet of American alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis) in south Louisiana. Report to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, New Orleans.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Chapter 4. a b Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. a b c d e f g h i Britton, Adam. "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: What's the difference between a crocodile and an alligator?". Crocodilian Biology Database. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012 . Retrieved 18 September 2017. Grigg, Gordon; Kirshner, David (2015). Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486300662. Like other crocodilians, alligators have an armor of bony scutes. The dermal bones are highly vascularised and aid in calcium balance, both to neutralize acids while the animal cannot breathe underwater [54] and to provide calcium for eggshell formation. [55]

Main articles: Alligator farm, Alligator meat, and Alligator leather Edward H. Mitchell, "The Joy Ride" at the California Alligator Farm, Los Angeles, California, c. 1910s Delany, Michael F; Woodward, Allan R; Kiltie, Richard A; Moore, Clinton T (20 May 2011). "Mortality of American Alligators Attributed to Cannibalism". Herpetologica. 67 (2): 174–185. doi: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-10-00040.1. S2CID 85198798. Alligators also have complex microbiomes that are not fully understood yet, but can be attributed to both benefits and costs to the animal. These microorganisms can be found in the high surface area of the mucosa folds of the intestines, as well as throughout the digestive tract. Benefits include better total health and stronger immune system. However alligators are still vulnerable to microbial infections despite the immune boost from other microbiota. [51] Brochu, C. A. (2011). "Phylogenetic relationships of Necrosuchus ionensis Simpson, 1937 and the early history of caimanines". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163: S228–S256. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00716.x.

a b Keenan, S. W.; Elsey, R. M. (2015-04-17). "The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown: Microbial Symbioses of the American Alligator". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 55 (6): 972–985. doi: 10.1093/icb/icv006. ISSN 1540-7063. PMID 25888944. Crocodilian Captive Care FAQ (Caiman, Alligator, Crocodile)". crocodilian.com . Retrieved 2023-02-10. Craighead, F. C., Sr. (1968). The role of the alligator in shaping plant communities and maintaining wildlife in the southern Everglades. The Florida Naturalist, 41, 2–7, 69–74. Morgan, G. S., Richard, F., & Crombie, R. I. (1993). The Cuban crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer, from late quaternary fossil deposits on Grand Cayman. Caribbean Journal of Science, 29(3–4), 153–164. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-29 . Retrieved 2014-03-28. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link) Although the alligator has a heavy body and a slow metabolism, it is capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. Alligators' main prey are smaller animals they can kill and eat with a single bite. They may kill larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it into the water to drown. Alligators consume food that cannot be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot or by biting and then performing a "death roll", spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-sized chunks are torn off. Critical to the alligator's ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. An alligator with an immobilized tail cannot perform a death roll. [31]