False gharial

The False gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial, false gavial, or Tomistoma (Tomistoma schlegelii) is a fresh-water reptile resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout, which is thicker than the gharial.

Description

1. The false gharial is an unusual freshwater crocodilian (a group that includes alligators, crocodiles, caimans and the gharial) about which very little is known.
   
2. Like the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) from which it gets its common name, this species has a slender snout .
3. Juveniles are dark/chocolate brown with black banding on the tail and body, a creamy white belly and dark blotches on the jaws; much of this colouration is retained into adulthood .
4. Controversy over the taxonomy of this species remains, as morphological features (other than the snout shape) suggest it belongs in the family Crocodylidae where it is currently placed, but recent biochemical and immunological evidence suggests a closer relationship with the gharial, indicating it should also be placed in the family Gavialidae .

Population

1. A total population estimate is not possible but an estimate of below 2,500 mature adults was agreed by a consensus of active researchers as a cautious figure.

Diet & Behavior

1. Until recently very little has been known about the diet or behavior of the false gharial within the wild, but thanks to some research on the part of biologists details are slowly being revealed.
   

2. It has come to the attention of biologists that the false gharial's diet is much more varied than they had originally thought.
   

3. Until now the false gharial was thought to have a diet similar to its relative the true Gharial (i.e. only fish and very small vertebrates) but new evidence and occurrences have proven that the false gharial's broader snout has enabled larger individuals to prey on larger vertebrates (including monkeys, deer & fruit bats.)
   

Conservation

1. The false gharial is threatened with extinction throughout most of its range due to the drainage of its freshwater swamplands and clearance of surrounding rainforests.
   
2. The species is also hunted frequently for its skin and meat and the eggs are often harvested for human consumption.
   
3. However, positive steps have been taken by the Malaysian and Indonesian governments to prevent its extinction in the wild.
   
4. There are reports of some populations rebounding in Indonesia, yet with this slight recovery, mostly irrational fears of attacks have surfaced amongst the local human population

Habitat

1. The false gharial is native to six river systems in Sumatra and Malaysia, along with the remote river systems of Borneo.
   
2. It is extinct within all of Indochina where it has not been observed in the wild since the 1970s.
   
3. Fossils found in Southern China and Taiwan indicate that this and closely related extinct species ranged further north in Asia earlier in the Tertiary .

Reproduction

1. The false gharial, like all other crocodilian species, lays eggs.
   
2. It is not known when the species breeds in the wild or when its nesting season is. It is a mound nester.
   
3. Females usually mature at 2–3 m. Mated females will lay a clutch of 30-60 eggs in a mound of dry leaves or peat.
   
4. Once the eggs are laid, and construction of the mound is completed, she abandons her nest.
   
5. Unlike most other crocodilian species, the young receive no parental care and are at risk of being eaten by predators like mongooses, big cats such as tigers and leopards, civets, and wild dogs.
   
6. The young hatch after 90 days and are left to fend for themselves.

A video on the animal