Belte stoff

Alligator or crocodile? The battle for world-class leather belts.

Dec 30, 2024

The skins of both are considered the most expensive available. The image below shows the alligator's broad round jaw - the caiman crocodile which actually belongs to the alligator family also has this. The alligator has a bite force of 2 tons. The crocodile has a sharper jaw shape. The first two have hidden teeth, while the crocodile has poor tooth alignment with many teeth outside and clearly visible. The crocodile is considered more aggressive than the other two. The horns on the neck have different numbers on the three reptiles. On the belly, the crocodile has a small dot on each scale which is probably a "sensor/antenna" that sends signals about prey underneath. Alligators do not have this except under the jaw. If you find a handbag with a dot on each scale - it is genuine. There are also differences between freshwater and saltwater crocodiles - not only in size but also, among other things, the sphincter muscle in the throat. A saltwater crocodile can move between freshwater and saltwater. Crocodiles are larger than alligators - an alligator is rarely larger than 10 feet. There are only two alligator colonies - American Alligator and Chinese Alligator. After 20 years of protection of the alligator in the USA - there are more than 2 million wild in Louisiana and more than 1 million wild in Florida. More than 800,000 are farmed. Crocodiles are commonly widespread in Asia and Africa and are numerous. The average age of an alligator is 40-50 years. Saltwater crocodiles live longer - the oldest about 70 years.

Note: The world's largest saltwater crocodile was Lolong from the Philippines, 6.17m and 1075 kg. The world's largest alligator was caught in Alabama in 2014, 4.90 m and 459 kg.