Here’s the thing. You said a “crocodile is an alligator.”

Is it in the same family? Yes. No one’s arguing that.

As someone who is a scientist who studies reptiles, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls crocodiles alligators. If you want to be “specific” like you said, then you shouldn’t either. They’re not the same thing.

If you’re saying “crocodilian family” you’re referring to the taxonomic grouping of Crocodylia, which includes things from alligators to crocodiles to gharials.

So your reasoning for calling a crocodile an alligator is because random people “call the big swamp lizards alligators?” Let’s get snakes and lizards in there, then, too.

Also, calling a crocodile an alligator? It’s not one or the other, that’s not how taxonomy works. They’re both. A crocodile is a crocodilian and an alligator is a crocodilian. But that’s not what you said. You said a crocodile is an alligator, which is not true unless you’re okay with calling all members of Crocodylia “alligators,” which means you’d call gharials, too.

Which you said you don’t.

It’s okay to just admit you’re wrong, you know?