Are they both the same?
Ok. I know this is pretty weird that I am going to post something regarding these two reptiles. It just occurred that while my friends and I played a game which I will name as "who am I" on the animal theme, Chikita needed to guess alligator - which was fairly tricky because you won't normally go anywhere near alligator, when you had wrongly guess crocodile... They both seem the same, so we all had arguments whether alligator and crocodile are just the same.
We played the game when we were spending four days of our easter break in Northern Ireland - to be more specific at Giant's Causeway. Apparently it is widely known as the 8th wonder of the world (I just knew this) for its basalt columns but I have to say it is worth going there for the breathtaking view, subhanallah.
Ok. I know this is pretty weird that I am going to post something regarding these two reptiles. It just occurred that while my friends and I played a game which I will name as "who am I" on the animal theme, Chikita needed to guess alligator - which was fairly tricky because you won't normally go anywhere near alligator, when you had wrongly guess crocodile... They both seem the same, so we all had arguments whether alligator and crocodile are just the same.
We played the game when we were spending four days of our easter break in Northern Ireland - to be more specific at Giant's Causeway. Apparently it is widely known as the 8th wonder of the world (I just knew this) for its basalt columns but I have to say it is worth going there for the breathtaking view, subhanallah.
The Giant's Causeway. More pictures from the trip - click here.So what are the differences between alligator and crocodile?
1. They come from different families of crocodylians; alligators from alligatoridae, and "true" crocodiles from crocodylidae.
2. Alligators (?commonly) found in the southern US and eastern China while crocodiles are (?commonly) found in Mexico, south and central America, Africa, South East Asia, and Australia - so it is crocodile that I must have come across, at the zoo, most probably.
3. Habitat - They both inhabit the grassy swamps and slow moving rivers. Both of them have special salt glands to get rid of excess salt, but these work less well in alligators so they prefer freshwater habitats, whereas crocodiles tend to live in saltwater habitats.
3. Shape of the jaw — Alligators tend to have wide, U-shaped, rounded snouts, while crocodiles tend to have longer, more pointed, V-shaped snouts.
4. Placement of teeth - Upper jaw is wider than lower jaw in alligators so the teeth in lower jaw are almost completely covered up - unlike in crocodiles, in which the 4th teeth stick up over the upper lip.
One lesson I learned while playing the game. I suck at geography and other general knowledge! I admit that I do not read that much.
Also a lesson from the alligator-crocodile argument; how powerful Allah is to have created so many different range of creatures.
1. They come from different families of crocodylians; alligators from alligatoridae, and "true" crocodiles from crocodylidae.
2. Alligators (?commonly) found in the southern US and eastern China while crocodiles are (?commonly) found in Mexico, south and central America, Africa, South East Asia, and Australia - so it is crocodile that I must have come across, at the zoo, most probably.
3. Habitat - They both inhabit the grassy swamps and slow moving rivers. Both of them have special salt glands to get rid of excess salt, but these work less well in alligators so they prefer freshwater habitats, whereas crocodiles tend to live in saltwater habitats.
3. Shape of the jaw — Alligators tend to have wide, U-shaped, rounded snouts, while crocodiles tend to have longer, more pointed, V-shaped snouts.
4. Placement of teeth - Upper jaw is wider than lower jaw in alligators so the teeth in lower jaw are almost completely covered up - unlike in crocodiles, in which the 4th teeth stick up over the upper lip.
One lesson I learned while playing the game. I suck at geography and other general knowledge! I admit that I do not read that much.
Also a lesson from the alligator-crocodile argument; how powerful Allah is to have created so many different range of creatures.
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