Alligator olseni

Alligator olseni (common name Olsen's Alligator, named after Russel Olsen) is an extinct species of alligator. They lived in the Early Miocene period, around 20.4–15.97 million years ago and possibly earlier.^[2] Their range was principally in what is now known as Florida, United States, and possibly extending into southeastern Texas.^[3][4] It is a small alligator with an estimated body length of 2.6 metres (8.5 ft).^[5]

Olsen's alligator Temporal range: Early Miocene 20.4–16 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Reconstructed skeleton cast, Florida Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Order:	Crocodilia
Superfamily:	Alligatoroidea
Family:	Alligatoridae
Subfamily:	Alligatorinae
Genus:	Alligator
Species:	†A. olseni
Binomial name
†Alligator olseni White, 1942

Classification

Closeup of forelimbs

Alligator olseni is a member of the subfamily Alligatorinae, within the larger family Alligatoridae. It is closely related to the living American alligator and Chinese alligator, as shown in the cladogram below:^[6][7]

Alligatoridae

Caimaninae Alligatorinae Ceratosuchus burdoshi† Hassiacosuchus haupti† Navajosuchus mooki† Wannaganosuchus brachymanus† Arambourgia gaudryi† Allognathosuchus polyodon† Allognathosuchus wartheni† Procaimanoidea kayi† Alligator Alligator prenasalis† Alligator mcgrewi† Alligator olseni† Alligator sinensis Chinese alligator Alligator thomsoni† Alligator mefferdi† Alligator mississippiensis American alligator