Alligator Many people mistake alligators for crocodiles.
Crocodiles also have two teeth that are visible when the mouth is closed.
The alligator inhabits coastal southeast North Carolina to the Florida Keys west to central Texas. Its habitat includes fresh and brackish marshes, backwaters of large rivers, ponds, lakes, bayous and big spring runs. Its diet consists of insects, fish, frogs, turtles, snakes, birds and small mammals. It is gray-black in color, is heavily armored and has a broad, rounded snout. Its tail is flattened from side to side.