GENUINE ALLIGATOR HEAD

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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. a b Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Large male alligators are solitary territorial animals. Smaller alligators can often be found in large numbers close to each other. The largest of the species (both males and females) defend prime territory; smaller alligators have a higher tolerance for other alligators within a similar size class.

Grigg, Gordon; Kirshner, David (2015). Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486300662. 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] Most of the muscle in an alligator's jaw evolved to bite and grip prey. The muscles that close the jaws are powerful, but the muscles for opening their jaws are weak. As a result, an adult human can hold an alligator's jaws shut bare-handed. It is common to use several wraps of duct tape to prevent an adult alligator from opening its jaws when being handled or transported. [32] 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.Description An 1854 watercolor painting of an alligator from the Cayman Islands by Jacques Burkhardt. 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.

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. Reilly & Elias, Locomotion In Alligator Mississippiensis: Kinematic Effects Of Speed And Posture and Their Relevance To The Sprawling-to-Erect Paradigm The Journal of Experimental Biology 201, 2559–2574 (1998)Alligators are raised commercially for their meat and their skin, which when tanned is used for the manufacture of luggage, handbags, shoes, belts, and other leather items. Alligators also provide economic benefits through the ecotourism industry. Visitors may take swamp tours, in which alligators are a feature. Their most important economic benefit to humans may be the control of nutrias and muskrats. [26] Alligator Leap. Zooguy2. 2007-09-20. Archived from the original on 2021-07-10 . Retrieved 2021-09-07– via YouTube. Mark W. J. Ferguson; Ted Joanen (1982). "Temperature of egg incubation determines sex in Alligator mississippiensis". Nature. 296 (5860): 850–853. Bibcode: 1982Natur.296..850F. doi: 10.1038/296850a0. PMID 7070524. S2CID 4307265. 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.