Chinese Alligator Alligator sinensis

Alligators have a much more rounded snout than crocodiles. There are only two living species of alligator in the world, the wellknown American Alligator and the less-known Chinese, above.

The Chinese Alligator is smaller than its American cousin, typically reaching some 5 feet in length, and has armour on its underside as well as its topside.

It lives along the southern Yangtze River in eastern China and is critically endangered, mainly by population pressure for its habitat, especially changing wetlands to rice paddies. One of the most endangered crocodilians, it is estimated only some 150 remain in the wild.