Short-Nosed Alligator

The Short-Nosed Alligator, Alligator brevirostris, is a large species of alligator native to the tropical and subtropical humid regions of the Aurlûnor Velande. It is one of the largest living reptile species native to Syltor.

Taxonomy and Naming
The species name, brevirostris, comes from Old Viodoxan, and means "short-snouted". The word alligator itself is unknown in origin, but it is suspected to come into the Traveler's Tongue from an old Ardati word meaning "lizard". Despite this, the animal is not a lizard at all, but a crocodilian.

The common name of the alligator in the Aurlûnoren Imperial dialect is Lingwilûn, literally "fish-dragon". In the local Yenya dialect of Nir Province, the word is è yú; this is suspected to be a loanword from the language of the Yi'yen Guren tribes that inhabited the area in millennia prior to the Celestial Elves' residence in the swamps.

Description
Fully mature adults measure at around 5 meters in length; the largest reported individual was a 5.6 meter-long male found on Sheep's Key, in the marsh east of Hloamar. Males tend to be larger than females.

The alligator has a thick, leathery hide covered in non-overlapping scales typical of both crocodilians and dragons. As its name suggests, its snout is shorter relative to body size than most other members of its family. It is thought by some zoologists to be a product of neoteny, wherein the adult resembles a juvenile alligator.

Ecology and Behavior
Short-Nosed Alligators live in the swampy southern region of Nir Province, as well as in the freshwater and brackish waterways of the tropical Tacua Province. It is in the latter region that they come into conflict with the Aurlûnoren Lûn, another large reptile. The two will occasionally prey upon one another, however the Lûn prefers to hunt on land and the alligator in the water, avoiding most direct competition otherwise.

The Nir and Tacua populations are distinct enough that some zoologists propose they be separated into two proper subspecies; A. b. helemarensis and A. b. talhunarensis, respectively. Others do not see the differences significant enough to warrant the splitting.

The alligator's diet is composed mostly of shellfish. They eat mainly snails and freshwater clams, and together these two make up anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of their annual food intake. Other favored preys include turtles and water birds, and occasionally fish or smaller reptiles. They will rarely eat large terrestrial animals, including humans, and are known to practice cannibalism.

Relationship with People
The alligator has a complex relationship with the humans, elves, and other peoples that share its territory. The alligator is hunted for food and for its leathery hide; however, laws regulating hunting ensure that the population remains stable, and it has increased slightly in recent years.

The Yi'yen of the Nir swamps in particular had a close relationship with the reptiles, keeping them not only to be raised for food but also as pets. There are many sources claiming that the Yi'yen would use the alligator as a kind of aquatic hunting dog, retrieving turtles, birds, and other game for both the human and alligator to share. This practice has unfortunately been lost to time.

Legend has it that a Yi'yen duke, during the times of the Human-Elven Wars, kept a number of alligators in his military entourage. When on campaign he would allegedly feed prisoners of war to the alligators. According to the same tales, that duke was eventually captured himself by the army of the Kingdom of Almador, and fed to his own pet alligators.