The Chinese alligator or Alligator Alligator sinensis) is one of two known living species of Alligator

Alligator

An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....

, a genus in the family Alligatoridae

Alligatoridae

Alligatoridae is a family of crocodylians that includes alligators and caimans.- True alligators :Alligators proper occur in the fluvial deposits of the age of the Upper Chalk in Europe, where they did not die out until the Pliocene age. The true alligators are now restricted to two species, A...

. The Chinese alligator is native only to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is smaller than the other alligator species, the American alligator

American Alligator

The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...

, growing to an average of 1.5 m (5 ft).
While its appearance is very similar to the only other living member of the genus, the American alligator, there are a few differences.