Alligator — Premodern Concordance

Candidate findings

What the corpus suggests

Patterns synthesized only from the linked claims below. Each remains a research lead, not a substitute for reading the passages.

recurrence

Observation of male alligator fighting behavior

Both Darwin's general report and his specific index entry confirm the observation of fighting behaviors among male alligators.

supports · Charles Darwin, 1859

male alligators have been described as fighting, bellowing, and whirling round, like Indians in a war-dance, for the possession of the females

On the Origin of Species →

supports · Charles Darwin, 1859

Alligators, males, fighting, 88.

On the Origin of Species →

sense shift

Evolution of crocodilian classification

Early 17th-century descriptions categorize the animal as a type of crocodile, whereas 19th-century scientific discourse distinguishes alligators from crocodiles based on specific physical traits.

supports · Willem Piso & Georg Marcgrave, 1648

T a c a r e Brafilienfibus , Cayman Althiopibus in Congo •, CraW*7/a* Latinis

Historia Naturalis Brasiliae →

contradicts · Alexander von Humboldt, 1825

les zoologistes ont reconnu qu'il y a en Amérique à la fois des caymans ou alligalors à museau obtus et à jambes sans dentelures

Relation historique du voyage, Tome III →

transmission candidate

Humboldt's influence on physiological observations

The observation of alligators in the Pampas entering suspended animation is attributed directly to Humboldt in later scientific literature.

supports · Alexander von Humboldt, 1825

s caymans ou alligalors à museau obtus et à jambes sans dentelures

Relation historique du voyage, Tome III →

supports · Herbert Spencer, 1862

Humboldt states that during the summer drought, the alligators of the Pampas lie buried in a state of suspended animation beneath the parched surface

First Principles →

Names and forms

Term history

Alligatorpreferred label

alligatorsorthographic variantSuggested

Meanings in context

Senses in this corpus

Early colonial crocodilian descriptions

Historical accounts identifying crocodilian species in Brazil and Africa using local and Latin terminology.

2 passages

Scientific classification of American species

Zoological identification and taxonomic categorization of American alligators as distinct from other crocodilians.

4 passages

Observed behavioral and physiological traits

Naturalist observations regarding the social, reproductive, and survival behaviors of alligators in their natural habitats.

4 passages

Analyzed source evidence

Historical usages and claims

Distinct local senses and assertions recovered from the corpus. Quotations retain the source OCR and link to the full passage and scan.

Description of Brazilian crocodilians, locally called Jacare, noting their size, habitat, and medicinal uses.

Crocodili in fluviorum , ftagnorumquelatebrisdegunt, Africanis Crocodilis fimilcs , fed utiquc minores: raro quinque pcdumlongitudincmcxcedunt, 7^WBrafilienfibus,noftris <£npitiatl£ didi

The Brazilian crocodilians are smaller than African crocodiles and are known locally as Jacare.

asserts · observation · classification

The fat of the crocodilian is used for medicinal purposes, and its testicles are valued for their scent.

asserts · observation · function use

A detailed zoological description of a crocodilian animal, identified by the author as Crocodilus.

T a c a r e Brafilienfibus , Cayman Althiopibus in Congo •, CraW*7/a* Latinis

The animal described is identified as a crocodile.

asserts · observation · classification

The animal possesses a unique anatomical feature where it can move its upper jaw.

asserts · observation · property

Zoological classification of American alligators as distinct from crocodiles based on snout and leg morphology.

les zoologistes ont reconnu qu'il y a en Amérique à la fois des caymans ou alligalors à museau obtus et à jambes sans dentelures

Zoologists have identified that American alligators are distinct from crocodiles based on physical characteristics.

asserts · observation · classification

Alligators are characterized by having a blunt snout and legs without serrations.

asserts · observation · property

The alligator is identified as a distinct saurian species, often synonymous with the cayman, inhabiting coastal marshes.

Je ne doute pas que le crocodile à museau aigu et l'alligator ou cayman à museau de brochet ^ n'habitent à la fois , mais par bandes distinctes , les côtes marécageuses entre Xagua, le Surgidero du Batabano et l'Ile des Pinos

Alligators and caymans are considered synonymous and distinct from crocodiles.

asserts · observation · classification

Alligators and crocodiles inhabit the coastal marshes of Cuba in distinct groups.

asserts · observation · origin distribution

Reference to the American alligator species found in Florida and the Mississippi region.

Crocodilus acutus de Saint-Domingue, alligator lucius de la Floride et du Mississipi.

The author identifies the alligator species found in Florida and the Mississippi as Alligator lucius.

asserts · observation · classification

The author notes that alligator species are abundant on the coasts of Guyana.

asserts · observation · origin distribution

Scientific nomenclature for specific alligator species mentioned in a footnote.

g. ■^ Alligator sclerops et Alligator palpelirosus

The author identifies specific alligator species present in the region.

asserts · observation · classification

Alligators as examples of male animals engaging in combat for the possession of females.

male alligators have been described as fighting, bellowing, and whirling round, like Indians in a war-dance, for the possession of the females

Male alligators engage in fighting and display behaviors to compete for females.

reports · observation · property

A reference to the fighting behavior of male alligators as indexed in the text.

Alligators, males, fighting, 88.

Male alligators engage in fighting behavior.

reports · observation · property

Alligators of the Pampas exhibiting suspended animation during summer drought conditions.

Humboldt states that during the summer drought, the alligators of the Pampas lie buried in a state of suspended animation beneath the parched surface, and struggle up out of the earth as soon as it becomes humid.

Alligators in the Pampas enter a state of suspended animation during summer droughts.

reports · authority citation · property

Alligators exhibiting curiosity and fear-based avoidance behaviors toward a human observer.

I have seen alligators in the water act in precisely the same way towards a man seated on the beach in front of them

Alligators exhibit alternating behaviors of curiosity and fear when encountering novel objects.

asserts · observation · property

Related, not identical

Adjacent histories

Passages worth comparing without treating their subjects as names or senses of this entry.

Description of crocodiles or caimans in New Spain, noting their size, behavior, and local name.

DE LOS COCODRYLOS, O CAYMANES, QVE llaman acuitzpalin.

The author classifies the animal known as acuitzpalin as a type of crocodile or caiman.

asserts · observation · classification

The animal is described as having a very hard, shell-like skin covering its teeth.

asserts · observation · property

The passage distinguishes between the aggressive crocodile and the timid cayman (alligator) in Cuba.

e, tandis que les animaux qu'on appelle exclusivement cayw^A?^ au Batabano sont si timides qu'on ne craint pas de se baigner dans les endroits où ils vivent par bandes

Caymans (alligators) in the Batabano region are described as timid animals that live in groups.

asserts · observation · property

The author suggests that the Cuban 'cocodrilo' represents a different species from the large saurians of the Orinoco and Magdalena rivers.

asserts · reasoning · classification

The author questions the presence of alligators in Cuba, distinguishing them from the observed crocodiles.

Y auroit-il, danslesud de l'ile de Cuba, de véritables caymans à museau obtus, dont la 4" dent infé- rieure entre dans la mâchoire supérieure 5 des alligators semblables à ceux de la Floride

The author distinguishes alligators from the crocodiles observed in Cuba based on snout shape and dental morphology.

qualifies · reasoning · classification

Primary-source evidence

Full passages, chronologically

On the Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin, 1859

INDEX. Aberrant groups, 429. Abyssinia, plants of, 375. Acclimatisation, 139. Affinities: of extinct species, 329. of organic beings, 411. Agassiz: on Amblyopsis, 139. on groups of species suddenly appearing, 302, 305. on embryological succession, 338. on the glacial period, 366. on embryological characters, 418. on the embryos of vertebrata, 439. on parallelism of embryological development and geological succession, 449. Algæ of New Zealand, 376. Alligators, males, fighting, 88. Amblyopsis, blind fish, 139. America, North: productions allied to those of Europe, 371. boulders and glaciers of, 373. South, no modern formations on west coast, 290. Ammonites, sudden extinction of, 321. Anagallis, sterility of, 247. Analogy of variations, 159. Ancylus, 386. Animals: not domesticated from being variable, 17. domestic, descended from several stocks, 19. acclimatisation of, 141. of Australia, 116. with thicker fur in cold climates, 133. blind, in caves, 137. extinct, of Australia, 339. Anomma, 240. Antarctic islands, ancient flora of, 399. Antirrhinum, 161. Ants: attending aphides, 211. slave-making instinct, 219. Ants, neuter, structure of, 236. Aphides attended by ants, 211. Aphis, development of, 442. Apteryx, 182. Arab horses, 35. Aralo-Caspian Sea, 339. Archiac, M. de, on the succession of species, 325. Artichoke, Jerusalem, 142. Ascension, plants of, 389.

First PrinciplesHerbert Spencer, 1862

Suggested

Analogous instances occur among much higher animals. When the African rivers which it inhabits are dried up, the _Lepidosiren_ remains torpid in the hardened mud, until the return of the rainy season brings water. Humboldt states that during the summer drought, the alligators of the Pampas lie buried in a state of suspended animation beneath the parched surface, and struggle up out of the earth as soon as it becomes humid. Now though we have no proof that these partial arrests of vital activity, are consequent on the reduction of the fluid-solid tissues to a more solid form; yet their occurrence along with a cessation in the supply of water, is reason for suspecting that this is the case. And similarly, though in the more numerous instances where loss of water leads to complete arrest of vital activity, we are unable to say that the immediate cause is a stoppage of molecular changes that results from a diminution of molecular mobility; yet it seems not improbable that this is the rationale of death by thirst.

The Principles of PsychologyWilliam James, 1890

Suggested

Curiosity . Already pretty low down among vertebrates we find that any object may excite attention, provided it be only novel, and that attention may be followed by approach and exploration by nostril, lips, or touch. Curiosity and fear form a couple of antagonistic emotions liable to be awakened by the same outward thing, and manifestly both useful to their possessor. The spectacle of their alternation is often amusing enough, as in the timid approaches and scared wheelings which sheep or cattle will make in the presence of some new object they are investigating. I have seen alligators in the water act in precisely the same way towards a man seated on the beach in front of them — gradually drawing near as long as he kept still, frantically careering back as soon as he made a movement. Inasmuch as new objects may always be advantageous, it is better that an animal should not absolutely fear them.