What are the main differences between Alligators and Crocodiles?
alligators have broader rounded snout and their teeth are not visible when their mouth is closed. There are only two species of true alligators the american and Chinese. The chinese is small. The American alligator is dark olive green while the American crocodile is a grayish color. Crocs can also live in salt water and brackish water as adults while alligators are strictly fresh water. Salt water dehydrates them. Alligators primarily eat turtles and fish while crocs are a predator of land animals that come to the water. As a result there is an old herpetologist joke that goes like this. If you see one on the shore and want to tell whether it is an alligator or crocodile…Go poke it with a stick. If it slides back into the water it is an alligator. If it rips your leg off it is a crocodile. In addition to the true alligators the Caimans (several species) of South and Central America are also relatives of the alligators and resemble them. The difference being that their bellies have la
