Alligator on a log sunning himself in a swam in Louisiana. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially ...

Alligator on a log sunning himself in a swam in Louisiana. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae.