Fossil Alligator Scute

Description

Fossils of the American alligator are found throughout much of Florida. Not surprisingly, given the species’ preferred habitats today (e.g., swamps, lakes, and rivers), its fossils are most common at sites formed in fresh-water habitats and are typically found together with species having similar ecologic preferences, such as aquatic turtles, wading birds and ducks, and frogs. Alligators will move across land from one body of water to another, so their fossils do end up in fossil deposits not associated with water, such as dry sinkholes and caves, but typically not in large numbers. Alligators also are not very salt tolerant, especially compared to crocodiles, so are rare or absent in nearshore marine deposits. The most common fossils found are isolated teeth and osteoderms.