Genus Alligator. (Cuv.)
A broad obtuse muzzle, with uneven teeth, marks the genus before us; the fourth tooth on each side of the lower jaw enters into a cavity of the upper jaw, and not into an interspace of the opposite teeth; the webs of the hind feet are small, and extended only between the bases of the toes; the feet are not fringed or pectinated at the sides; and finally there are no holes, or very minute ones, in the skull, behind the orbits.
The five species which constitute this genus are peculiar to America, one being an inhabitant of the southern United States, and the four others of the tropical part of South America. It is worthy of remark, that while the islands of the West Indies possess species of the genus Crocodilus, which is common to both hemispheres, the Alligators are exclusively continental. The former are frequently seen in the brackish waters at the mouths of rivers, the latter never.
The term Alligator is commonly considered as a corruption of the Portuguese word lagarto, signifying a lizard; and it has been applied by the British colonists, not only to the species which inhabits the United States, but also to those inhabiting the West Indian Isles, though, as we have already intimated, the latter are genuine species of the restricted genus Crocodilus. Those of the South American continent bear the appellation of Caiman, which is probably a word of Indian origin.
In temperate climates, at least, the Alligators appear to hybernate; as winter draws near, they bury
