Great South Gems & Minerals

• Alligator Scutes •
(Florida)

• Alligator Scutes •

alligators - living fossil - American alligators

The alligator has been described as a "living fossil" as, according to scientist, they have been around for in excess of 200,000,000 years. (Two-hundred million years.) The alligator was living on earth way before most of the dinosaurs come along, and, are still with us today. And, the alligator has changed very little during that period. According to scientist, the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous age, about sixty-five million years ago.

The alligator has several rows of large raised bony armor plates called scutes running down the back of the animal. These bony plates, or scutes, provide protection from predators, and, scientist theorize, these bony plates being a dark greenish-black color, helps the animal absorb heat into it's body; the alligator being a cold-blooded animal. The alligator regulates its body temperature by alternatively laying in the sun and being in the water, thus, not getting too hot nor too cold.

American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

The average life-span of the alligator is around 50 plus years, although animals in captivity have lived in excess of 70 years. Alligators grow to an average of about 13 feet long and weigh around 850 pounds. Most alligators hibernate in the winter months by digging burrows in banks, but may occasionally emerge during brief spells of warmer weather.

The alligator scutes sold here are fossils and are not from living animals. These specimens are believed to be between 5 to 25 million years old.

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