Fossil - American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Fossil - American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Pleistocene epoch, ca. 1.0 - 1.2 million years ago, Florida, United States.

A magnificent, prehistoric fossilized bone fragment of an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The fossil measures approximately 105mm x 57mm x 32mm. Weight approx. 115g.

Alligatoroidea is a superfamily of crocodilians, which includes modern alligators and caimans, as well as all extinct crocodilians (such as the 10-meter-long Deinosuchus), which are more closely related to them than to crocodiles or gavials. Alligators (Alligatorinae) are a subfamily in the family Alligatoridae. There are two species of alligators in this subfamily, and they are in the same genus, Alligator. The Mississippian alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is the largest alligator species in the world and is endemic to the southeastern United States. It lives only there, in states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Mississippi alligator is a freshwater alligator that thrives in streams, rivers, and shores, lakes, and swamps - but not in marine areas like a crocodile. The Mississippi alligator is able to communicate with its fellow species with various sounds. The Mississippi alligator is 3.4 to 4.6 meters long. The largest specimen found was 5.8 meters long. The American alligator is an incredibly adaptable crocodilian species that has lived for millions of years with only minor morphological changes and survived numerous changes in climate and sea level rise relatively unchanged. The ancestors of modern crocodilians first appeared on the surface of the earth in the late Cretaceous period, about 100–65 million years ago. The fossil of the Leidyosuchus species found in the province of Alberta, Canada, has been dated to the Campanian period, about 83–72 million years ago.

Symbol meaning

Ritual use

Note! Fossils are natural products, so each one is unique. Therefore, colors, shapes and brightness may vary. The condition varies from fair to good and they have typical wear, cracks and small chips for fossils.