Land development and water management practices for the expansion of a rapidly growing human population have reduced the spatial extent and changed the hydropatterns of these habitats. However, while the American alligator's range stretches as far north as Virginia, the American crocodile's range in the United States is confined to southern Florida. Description: American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabit the southeastern United States.Once a federally listed endangered species, American alligators have recovered and are common in many areas of the Southeast. The American crocodile's range in southern Florida overlaps with that of the closely related American alligator. The species is still federally listed as threatened because it looks like the American crocodile, which is endangered. The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a widely distributed species across coastal and brackish areas of the Neotropical region of the Americas and the Greater Antilles. Primarily a coastal crocodilian, the American crocodile exists at the northern end of its range in south Florida.