Texas - American Alligator - Alligator Mississippiensis

	American Alligator - Alligator Mississippiensis
STATUS: In Texas, reclassified to threatened due to similarity of appearance. Originally listed as endangered without critical habitat. DESCRIPTION: A large (up to 16 feet), lizard-like reptile with a broadly rounded snout. General adult coloration is grayish-black. HABITAT: Broad river valleys, meandering streams, oxbow lakes, marshes, swamps, estuaries, bayous, and creeks with minimal water-flow. DISTRIBUTION: Present: Currently occur in more than 90% of their historic range. In Texas, the greatest concentrations occur in the middle and upper coastal counties. They also occur in suitable inland habitat. Historic: Southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas. In Texas, from the coastal plain westward to the Balcones Fault-line. THREATS AND/OR REASONS FOR DECLINE: Habitat loss, hunting, predation of young, and human disturbance. OTHER INFORMATION: Limited on the west and south by low rainfall; limited by low temperatures to the north. In Texas, limit of northern distribution corresponds quite closely to the 35° F. isotherm of mean January daily temperature. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department oversees controlled harvest of this species. REFERENCES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. August 1992. Threatened and Endangered Species of Texas. Endangered Species Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico

American Alligator - Alligator Mississippiensis

STATUS: In Texas, reclassified to threatened due to similarity of appearance. Originally listed as endangered without critical habitat.

DESCRIPTION: A large (up to 16 feet), lizard-like reptile with a broadly rounded snout. General adult coloration is grayish-black.

HABITAT: Broad river valleys, meandering streams, oxbow lakes, marshes, swamps, estuaries, bayous, and creeks with minimal water-flow.

DISTRIBUTION:

Present: Currently occur in more than 90% of their historic range. In Texas, the greatest concentrations occur in the middle and upper coastal counties. They also occur in suitable inland habitat.
Historic: Southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas. In Texas, from the coastal plain westward to the Balcones Fault-line.

THREATS AND/OR REASONS FOR DECLINE: Habitat loss, hunting, predation of young, and human disturbance.

OTHER INFORMATION: Limited on the west and south by low rainfall; limited by low temperatures to the north. In Texas, limit of northern distribution corresponds quite closely to the 35° F. isotherm of mean January daily temperature. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department oversees controlled harvest of this species.

REFERENCES:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. August 1992. Threatened and Endangered Species of Texas. Endangered Species Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico