Zhaohui Xie; Peiru Shi; Xiaoxing Yang & Min Lu

The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) belongs to the genus Alligator, which is a unique crocodile in China. In order to study the macroscopic structure of the heart of Chinese alligator, we performed detailed cardiac anatomy on five specimens. The heart is in the cranial mediastinum. It is caudally involved by the liver cranial margins, and ventrally by the ribs, intercostal muscles, and sternum and dorsally by the lungs. The wild Chinese alligator heart is a typical four-chamber heart, with two (right and left) atria and ventricles, left and right aorta, pulmonary artery and subclavian artery branch from the aorta. Morphology measures the circumference (129.36 mm), weight (44.14 g), and length of the heart from apex to bottom (52.50 mm). Studies have shown that the shape of the wild Chinese alligator’s heart is consistent with the anatomy of other crocodiles.

KEY WORDS: Chinese alligator; Heart; Morphology; Reptile.

XIE, Z.; SHI, P.; YANG, X. & LU, M. Morphological study in heart of wild Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). Int. J. Morphol., 41(1):324-330, 2023.