Scientists Weigh in on if Loki Is Holding an Alligator or Crocodile

It's been almost a week since the fourth episode of Loki dropped on Disney+ and while waiting for the next episode of the Marvel television series has felt long -- after all, there were so many surprises in episode 4 that we really need answers about -- that time has also offered fans a chance to examine some of the details. One of those details involves the four surprise Loki variants Tom Hiddleston's Loki encountered in an end-credits scene. Specifically, there have been some questions about the reptilian Loki we were briefly introduced to in whatever world Loki ended up in after being pruned from the Sacred Timeline and now scientists are weighing in: is it Alligator Loki or Crocodile Loki?

In the episode, Loki is pruned by Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and initially, it appears that that is the end of the line for the God of Mischief. However, in the post-credits scene, Loki wakes up in a devastated place where he's greeted by four other Loki variants "Classic Loki" (Richard E. Grant), "Kid Loki" (Jack Veal), "Boastful Loki" (Deobia Oparei), and a reptilian Loki who is being held by Kid Loki. Fans have been torn on what to call that reptilian Loki with some calling him "Alligator Loki" while others call him "Crocodile Loki" Esquire asked some actual scientists which creature they think this Loki variant to be and it seems that the answer is an alligator.

"Unlike alligators, crocodiles have an exposed 4 tooth on the lower jaw," John White with the Virginia Herpetological Society told Esquire. "The animal in your photo is an American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)."

Aaron M. Bauer, a biologist at Villanova University, agreed, telling the outlet that the animal in the photo is an alligator. So that seems to be pretty definitive. It's Alligator Loki. However, Mike Clifford who is also with the Virginia Herpetological Society offered up his own unique answer that "genetic analysis indicates it is the species Crocogator lokii."

With the species of this specific variant more or less established thanks to science, the real question is who the character actually is. While Kid Loki and Classic Loki have comic book counterparts we can line them up with (and even if Classic Loki ends up being King Loki as many speculate, that still holds), there really isn't a direct correlation to an Alligator Loki in comics. Some have connected the variant to the iconic Frog Thor (Throg) storyline in comics, but wherever this version comes from it will be interesting to see what Alligator Loki and indeed the other Lokis are doing in this seemingly war-ravaged place and what it all means as we head into the final two episodes.

New episodes of Marvel's Loki premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.

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