American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis is in the family Crocodylidae. This family has existed since the upper Triassic period, but the modern family members appear in the fossil record as little as 80 million years ago. There are three subfamilies, Alligatorinae, Crocodylinae, and Gavaialinae. Some people also include a fourth subfamily, Tomistominae, which contains a single species, the False Gharial. Alligatorinae includes the American and Chinese alligators and the caimans. Crocodylinae includes the crocodiles. Gavaialinae contains the gharials (or gavials). The alligators are unusually tolerant of cold and have been found frozen in ice at the most northern parts of their ranges (Beck). All of the family Crocodylidae is endangered. However, the American alligator has undergone a dramatic population resurgence because of human protection. Restrictions are still in place on capturing alligators from the wild (Beck). Studies have shown that using hormones such as norethindrone can be used to feminize alligator embryos at the male producing temperature (Lance, 79). This could lead to a way to help alligators increase in numbers of both sexes as well as help other members of the family Crocodylidae. Alligators a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1391
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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