Alligator or crocodile? The battle for world-class leather belts.
Dec 30, 2024
The skins from both are considered the most expensive that exist. The image below shows the alligator's broad round jaw - caiman the crocodile which actually belongs to the alligator genus also has this. The alligator has a jaw pressure of 2 tons. The Crocodile has a sharper jaw design. The first two have their teeth hidden, while the crocodile has poor dental alignment with many teeth protruding and clearly visible. The crocodile is considered more aggressive than the other two. The horns on the neck have a different number on the three reptiles. On the belly, the crocodile has a small dot in each scale which is likely a "sensor/antenna" that sends signals about prey beneath it. Alligators do not have this except under the jaw. If you find a handbag with a dot in each scale - then it is the real deal. There are also differences between freshwater and saltwater crocodiles - not only in size but also, among other things, the closing 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 for 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 found in Asia and Africa and are in large numbers. The average age of an alligator is 40-50 years. The saltwater crocodile lives longer - the oldest is about 70 years.
NB. The world's largest saltwater crocodile is 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.
More about alligators and crocodiles at bredal-wild.com
Crocodile belt can be seen here
https://bredal-wild.com/products/freshwater-crocodile-hornback
The Crocodile Bible has ISBN code 0-8160-2174-0
