There are two species-a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in China.
Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways.
The American alligator, Alligator mississipiensis, is found in swamps and sluggish streams from North Carolina to Florida and along the Gulf Coast. When young, it is dark brown or black with yellow transverse bands. The bands fade as the animal grows, and the adult is black. The wild American alligator is now completely protected by law though commercially farmed. Alligators spend the day floating just below the surface of the water or resting on the bank, lying in holes in hot weather.