In the September issue of Cell Research, Wan et al. analyze the Chinese Alligator genome and identify multiple instances of positively-selected changes in protein-coding genes and expansions of multi-gene families that appear to explain suites of phenotypes central to the unique habits and physiology of crocodilian reptiles. They demonstrate the effectiveness of comparative systems genomics in integrating information from comparative genomics, molecular evolution, and systems biology to understand the evolutionary dynamics of complex systems.