alligators and caimans
Sign in to saveThe family Alligatoridae of crocodilians includes alligators, caimans and their extinct relatives.
AI overview
Alligators and caimans are types of crocodilians—large reptiles that belong to the family Alligatoridae, which also includes their extinct ancestors. Understanding these animals helps us learn about the diversity of modern reptiles and their evolutionary history.
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Species
Family
- PhylumChordata
- ClassCrocodylia
- FamilyAlligatoridae
Habitatbrackish, freshwater
via
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Phylogeny
- Evolution
- True alligators
- Caimans
- Taxonomy
- References
- External links
The family Alligatoridae of crocodilians includes alligators, caimans and their extinct relatives.
==Phylogeny== thumb|A. olseni fore limb thumb|right|Alligator prenasalis fossil The superfamily Alligatoroidea includes all crocodilians (fossil and extant) that are more closely related to the American alligator than to either the Nile crocodile or the gharial. This is a stem-based definition for alligators, and is more inclusive than the crown group Alligatoridae. As a crown group, Alligatoridae only includes the last common ancestor of all extant (living) alligators, caimans, and their descendants (living or extinct), whereas Alligatoroidea, as a stem-based group, also includes more basal extinct alligator ancestors that are more closely related to living alligators than to crocodiles or gavialids. When considering only living taxa (neontology), Alligatoroidea and Alligatoridae contain the same species.