American Alligator By johnpsareas Period: Dec 10, 1700 to Dec 10, 2013 History of the American Crocodile Dec 10, 1768 Initial Discovery Austrian Naturalist laurenti first classified and named crocodylus americanus Nov 10, 1807 Reclassification Modern day classification term crocodylus acutus finally used to describe american crocodile by george cuvier Dec 11, 1979 Species Declared Endangered Dec 11, 1984 Crossing signs for crocodiles Put up on Florida Highways Aug 14, 1996 American Crocodile estimated to have a population between 500 and 1200 Dec 11, 2000 Population increase Mar 20, 2007 Declassified as endangered and was downgraded to threatened