Alligator in viral photograph is stuffed

by Greg Mayer A photograph of an alligator on the back of an inflatable alligator is making the rounds of a variety of news media. This is a stuffed alligator. The splayed legs, open mouth, and curled tail are typical of the poses used for souvenir stuffed alligators, and atypical of the way a live […]

The American Alligator

by Greg Mayer Another Florida correspondent sends this picture of several American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in Oviedo, Florida. They’re at a combination bar, gift shop, and wildlife refuge (the kind of place Florida specializes in, I gather!) on the shore of Lake Jesup. Alligators are said to be abundant in the lake, and a few are […]

Cretaceous crocs crunch critters

by Greg Mayer Earlier this year my friend Chris Noto and his colleagues Derek Main and Stephanie Drumheller published a paper describing injuries to turtle and dinosaur bones from the Cretaceous that show evidence that they were preyed upon by crocodiles.  Besides the irresistible alliteration, their paper serves to show that we can sometimes learn […]