One theory points out that alligators eat stones to handle more time under water when they are hunting.
Alligators are known for their various and sometimes shocking diets, consuming everything from fish and birds to turtles and occasionally mammals. But one of the most unusual items found in your stomachs is neither animal nor even vegetable – are stones.
These swallowed stones, called gastrolites, have long intrigued scientists. Some animals use them to grind food, extract minerals or even to get rid of parasites. But for aquatic reptiles such as alligators, new investigations suggest a different reason: Floability control.
One from 2019 conducted by researchers at the University of Utah proposed to test this theory, which was first recorded for the first time by South American indigenous communities. The scientists brought seven young alligator American (Alligator Missisippiensis) to the laboratory to measure as stone consumption affected your dive abilityexplains the.
The results were impressive. The alligators without stomachs in the stomach could remain submerged for an average of just under six minutes. After swallowing small stones, your average dive time almost doubled for 11 minutes. Even more impressive, the maximum dive duration increased by 117%, with a few dives lasting more than 35 minutes – compared to just under 15 minutes without gastrolytes.
Investigators believe that the additional weight of stones allows alligators remain submerged more easilywithout floating up. This gives them a distinct advantage during hunting: they can sustain their breath for longer, stay hidden under water and throw surprise attacks more effectively.
“All alligators significantly increased the duration of their maximum dive when they received gastrolytes,” the team reported. “The longer registered dive jumped from 883 seconds to 2122 seconds After consuming the stones. ”
This behavior is not exclusive to modern reptiles. Paleontologists discovered gastrolytes in fossilized remains of plesiosaurs, large marine reptiles that lived during the Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous periods. So many fossils with rocks in their abdominal cavities that researchers believe this floatability strategy has been in use for millions of years.
From ancient seas to modern swamps, swallowing rocks can be one of nature’s most unexpected survival tools, giving predators like alligator a silent and deadly advantage under the surface of water.
