THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Reptilia    Crocodylia    Alligatoridae  

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1802 “1801”)

Current SSAR Comments:
There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.07.23.44.02)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.8 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Alligator (Lacertus omnium maximus: Catesby, Mark. 1754. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands: Containing the Figures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, and Plants: Particularly the Forest-trees, Shrubs, and other Plants, not Hitherto Described, or Very Incorrectly Figured by Authors. Together with Their Descriptions in English and French. To which, are Added Observations on the Air, Soil, and Waters: with Remarks upon Agriculture, Grain, Pulse, Roots, &c. To the Whole, is Prefixed a New and Correct Map of the Countries Treated of. , London. pp.); Allegator Lizard (Lacerta crocodylus: Forster, John R. 1771. A systematic catalogue of all the known plants of English North-America or, a flora Americae Septentrionalis. Pages in From Forster's translation of Bossu, Travels through that part of North America formerly called Louisiana, Vol. 1. T. Davies, London, England. pp.); Allegator Lizard (Lacerta crocodylus: Pennant, Thomas. 1785. Artic Zoology. Henry Hughs, London. pp.); Alligator (Lacerta alligator: Freeman, Thomas and Peter Custis. 1807. An Account of the Red River in Louisiana, Drawn Up from the Returns of Messrs. Freeman and Custis, to the War Office of the United States, Who Explored Same in the Year 1806. U.S. Government War Office, Washington, D.C.. pp.); Alligator (Crocodilus lucius: Hentz, Nicholas M. 1825. Some observations on the anatomy and physiology of the Alligator of North America. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 2():216-228); Alligator (Lacerta alligator: Hentz, Nicholas M. 1825. Some observations on the anatomy and physiology of the Alligator of North America. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 2():216-228); Pike-muzzled Alligator (Crocodilius lucius: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Cayman (Crocodilius lucius: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Pike-muzzled Cayman (Crocodilius lucius: Griffith, Edward and Edward Pidgeon. 1831. The class reptilia arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. Part 2. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London. 1-481pp.); Pike-headed Alligator (Alligator lucius: Royal College of Surgeons of England. 1859. Descriptive catalogue of the specimens of natural history in spirit contained in the Museum of the Royal college of surgeons of England. Vertebrata: Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London, England. pp.); Common Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1876. List of Skeletons and Crania in the Section of Comparative Anatomy of the United States Army Medical Museum for use during the International Exhibition of 1876 in Connection with the Representation of the Medical Department U.S. Army. Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C. pp.); Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1802 Daudin, Francois M. Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds. [Natural history of tree frogs, frogs and toads.] Quarto version. de L'imprimerie de Bertrandet, Rue de Sorbonne, Paris, France. 468pp.
1940 Harper, Francis. Some works of Bartram, Daudin, Latreille, and Sonnini, and their bearing upon North American herpetological nomenclature. American Midland Naturalist 23(3):692-723

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:20 CT