Evolution of Alligators

FIN.

Major Events

Evolution of Alligators

By: Jasmine Wright and Danielle Battle

Permian-Triassic Extinction

250,000,000 BC

Killed off 90% of life on Earth.

Largest mass extinction to ever.

Triassic-Jurassic Extinction

200,000,000 BC

Killed off 76% of life on Earth.

Killed the archosaurs with the exception of the crocodiles.

Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction

65,000,000 BC

Killed off 75% of life on Earth; this evolved the near extinction of the Champsosaurus species.

Holocene Extinction

10,000 BC

Mass extinction currently active. Primarily caused by humans.

May prove to be more devastating than the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction.

Hunted to Near Extinction

1950 AD - 1960 AD

Humans started hunting the American Alligator for its hides, almost went extinct.

-Directed sourced from http://www.preceden.com/timelines/68990-evolution-of-the-alligator

The First Alligator, Xilousuchus

250,000,000-200,000,000BC

Champsosaurus

70,000,000 BC - 50,000,000 BC

The first alligator, the Xilousuchus, was founded approximately 150 million years ago. This herbivorous reptile was the size of a small dog. This alligator was the first organism to have features of a predator, and menacing teeth.

♪Lived in swamps in Modern Asia

♪3 feet long, unintimidating, 5-10 pounds

Major Adaptations

♪A longer , and narrow mouth- to be able to reach in smaller places to get fish.

♪Claws- To grab on to debris under water/ to grasp their food.

Adaptions that came in handy..

This reptile was five feet long, 25-50 pounds, and lived in rivers in North America, and western Europe. It also survived the mass extinction the in 65,000,000 Their diet consists of:

♪Fish

♪Plants

Phytosaur, A Plant Eater

228,000,000-199,000,000 BC

Phytosaur, an organism that is closely related to the crocodile family, was present during the Permian-Triassic time period.

♪Extremely herbivorous

♪Had a large mouth to eat plants during that time to reach into smaller places for food.

♪Short legs for better travel

♪Menacing teeth to eat with

Crocodylus Thorbjarnarsoni

4,200,000 BC - Present

The Way out

This reptile is the organism that lead the evolution on the close relative of the Alligator, the crocodile. It's large skull made it very easy to consume humans.

♪Lived in modern day Kenya

♪Might of led to the true crocodile

♪Diet consisted of humans

Ancestors to Current Predators

Because of the different living conditions for each time period, the organism's diet, appearance, and enviornment changed in result. Many of these organisms gained features that are present in the modern day Alligator, such as:

♪Shorter legs- due to the weight of their bodies.

♪Thicker bodies- Because of their diet, they need a larger body to hold the food.

♪Longer mouths- To reach into smaller places.

♪Sharper teeth- to secure food in place.

The American Alligator

150,000,000 BC - Present

This alligator is still alive today, but some of the features from before have evolved. Like it's previous ancestors, they reside in swamps. These features include:

♪Shorter legs and arms

♪These hunt humans

Erpetosuchus

Sarcosuchus, The Super Croc

200,000,000 BC - 120,000,000 BC

110,000,000 BC - 100,000,000 BC

The Erpetosuchus, was an organism that was one of the first bipedal alligators. Because the skull was not the same as the other fossils, scientists had trouble finding out what timeline it belongs to. This type of species wandered through swamps similar to its previous ancestors.

The Sarcosuchus, or better known as the super croc, is 112 million years old. The skull of the Sarcosuchus is twice as long, and heavy compared the average crocodile skull. Even though the Sarcosuchus’ mouth was large in size, their diet was made completely of fish with occasionally feeding on dinosaurs.

♪Lived in Northern Africa

♪Overspread into the Sahara Desert