The alligator is a reptile that is a cousin to the crocodile. There are two types of alligators. One is called the American alligator. The other is called the Chinese alligator.

The alligator you see today looks just like the alligator that a dinosaur would have seen. An alligator has a wide nose and its eyes are near the back of its head. An alligator is very dark in color. It almost looks black.

Did you know that an alligator’s eyes will glow red when a light is shined on them?

An American alligator can grow to be more than 13 feet (four meters) long! It can weigh over 600 pounds (over 270 kilograms)! A Chinese alligator is much smaller. It does not grow to be more than six feet (two meters) long.

American alligators live in the United States. It can live in the southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. A Chinese alligator lives only along a river in China called the Yangtze.