HOW DID THESE REPTILES EVOLVE?
Alligators are truly ancient, with their earliest ancestors appearing around 245 million years ago. Later on, around 80 million years ago, crocodilians evolved. Both of these animals lived on the planet at the same time as dinosaurs, surviving as three-quarters of life on Earth perished in the Cretaceous-tertiary extinction. It was during the Late Cretaceous period that these reptiles developed their stumpy legs and large, protective scales. In this period, alligators and crocodiles diverged to become two separate families. Despite their slight differences, alligators and crocodiles remain very similar in appearance and haven’t had to evolve much over millions of years. This occurs in animals that are biologically adaptable and don’t need to change much over time in order to survive. Their Jurassic appearance has led to them being referred to as ‘living fossils’.