Gharials - Facts | 台北市立動物園資訊網

ThelifespanoftheGharialisnotexactlyknown,however,itisthoughttobearoundthesamespanasotherreptilesbeing50–60yearsinthewild.Although​ ...

The Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus) is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile[1]-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws. The Gharial (sometimes called the ‘Indian gharial’ or ‘gavial’) is the second-longest of all living crocodilians.

Gharials are most adapted to the calmer areas in the deep fast moving rivers. The physical attributes of the gharial do not make it very suited for moving about on land. In fact the only reasons the gharial leaves the water is to either bask in the sun or to nest on the sandbanks of the rivers.

Gharials have elongated, narrow snouts that are similar only to its relative, the False gharial, (Tomistoma schlegelii). The snout shape varies with the age of the Gharial. The snout becomes progressively thinner the older the gharial gets. The bulbous growth on the tip of the males snout is called a ‘ghara’ (after the Indian word meaning ‘pot’), only present in mature individua...