The false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), also known by the names Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial and tomistoma, is native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. This freshwater crocodilian in the family Gavialidae is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the global population is estimated at around 2,500 to 10,000 mature individuals.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Gavialidae
Subfamily: Tomistominae
Genus: Tomistoma
Müller, 1846
Species: T. schlegelii
The false gharial is dark reddish-brown above with dark brown or black spots and cross-bands on the back and tail. Ventrals are grayish-white, with some lateral dark mottling. Juveniles are mottled with black on the sides of the jaws, body, and tail. The smooth and unornamented snout is extremely long and slender, parallel sided, with a length of 3.0 to 3.5 times the width at the base. All teeth are long and needle-like, interlocking on the insides of the jaws, and are individually socketed. The dorsal scales are broad at midbody and extend onto the sides of the body. The digits are webbed at the base. Integumentary sensory organs are present on the head and body scalation. Scales behind the head are frequently a slightly enlarged single pair. Some individuals bear a number of adjoining small keeled scales. Scalation is divided medially by soft granular skin. Three transverse rows of two enlarged nuchal scales are continuous with the dorsal scales, which consist of 22 transverse rows of six to eight scales, are broad at midbody and extend onto the sides of the body. Nuchal and dorsal rows equals a total of 22 to 23 rows. It has 18 double-crested caudal whorls and 17 single-crested caudal whorls. The flanks have one or two longitudinal rows of six to eight very enlarged scales on each side.
The false gharial has one of the slimmest snouts of any living crocodilian, comparable to that of the slender-snouted crocodile and the freshwater crocodile in slenderness; only that of the gharial is noticeably slimmer. The false gharial is a large crocodilian. Males can reportedly grow up to 5 m (16 ft) in length. Three mature males kept in captivity measured 3.6 to 3.9 m (11 ft 10 in to 12 ft 10 in) and weighed 190 to 210 kg (420 to 460 lb), while a female measured 3.27 m (10 ft 9 in) and weighed 93 kg (205 lb). Females have been recorded at lengths of up to 4 m (13 ft 1 in). The false gharial apparently has the largest skull of any extant crocodilian, in part because of the great length of the slender snout. Out of the eight longest crocodilian skulls from existing species that could be found in museums around the world, six of these belonged to false gharials. The longest crocodilian skull belonging to an extant species was of this species and measured 84 cm (33 in) in length, with a mandibular length of 104 cm (41 in). Most of the owners of these enormous skulls had no confirmed (or even anecdotal) total measurements for the animals, but based on the known skull-to-total length ratio for the species they would measure approximately 5.5 to 6.1 m (18 ft 1 in to 20 ft 0 in) in length.
📍:Avilon Zoo