Alligator

12126

5"

Mouth blown, hand painted, glass Christmas ornament from Merck Family's Old World Christmas.

(The tail looks bobbed off in this picture, but it actually curves around to the other side.)

Alligators are living fossils that can be traced back 65 million years. Members of the crocodile family, their name comes from the Spanish word for lizard "el largato." Over a million alligators live in the southern United States. They are considered to be very clever and are fast learners.