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Gavialidae
 
 
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Gavialidae is a family of reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s within the order Crocodilia
Crocodilia

Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that appeared about 84 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period . They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria....
. Gavialidae consists of only two surviving species, the gharial
Gharial

The gharial , sometimes called the Indian gavial or gavial, is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws....
 (Gavialis gangeticus) and the false gharial
False gharial

The false gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial or false gavial, is a fresh-water reptile, resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout resembling that of the gharial, hence its name....
 (Tomistoma schlegelii), which are each the sole living representatives of their genera. They are native to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and the Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Kra Peninsula and runs approximately north-south through the Kra Isthmus....
.

Gavialids are large semi-aquatic reptiles, resembling crocodiles, but with a much thinner snout. The thin snout is used to catch fish, as gavialids lack the jaw strength to capture the large mammalian prey favoured by crocodiles and alligators of similar size.








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Encyclopedia


Gavialidae is a family of reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s within the order Crocodilia
Crocodilia

Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that appeared about 84 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period . They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria....
. Gavialidae consists of only two surviving species, the gharial
Gharial

The gharial , sometimes called the Indian gavial or gavial, is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws....
 (Gavialis gangeticus) and the false gharial
False gharial

The false gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial or false gavial, is a fresh-water reptile, resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout resembling that of the gharial, hence its name....
 (Tomistoma schlegelii), which are each the sole living representatives of their genera. They are native to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and the Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Kra Peninsula and runs approximately north-south through the Kra Isthmus....
.

Gavialids are large semi-aquatic reptiles, resembling crocodiles, but with a much thinner snout. The thin snout is used to catch fish, as gavialids lack the jaw strength to capture the large mammalian prey favoured by crocodiles and alligators of similar size.

Classification


Family GAVIALIDAE
  • Subfamily Gavialinae
    • Genus Gavialis
      • Gavialis gangeticus, gharial
        Gharial

        The gharial , sometimes called the Indian gavial or gavial, is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws....
  • Subfamily Tomistominae
    • Genus Tomistoma
      • Tomistoma schlegelii, false gharial
        False gharial

        The false gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial or false gavial, is a fresh-water reptile, resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout resembling that of the gharial, hence its name....
         or Malayan gharial
      • †Tomistoma lusitanica
      • †Tomistoma cairense
    • Genus †Eogavialis
      • †Eogavialis africanus
      • †Eogavialis andrewsi
    • Genus †Kentisuchus
    • Genus †Gavialosuchus
      Gavialosuchus

      'Gavialosuchus' is an extinct genus of gavialidae from the late Oligocene and Miocene of eastern North America and early Miocene of Europe. Three species have been named: the type species G....
    • Genus †Paratomistoma
    • Genus †Thecachampsa
    • Genus †Rhamphosuchus
      Rhamphosuchus

      Rhamphosuchus is an extinct relative of the modern gharial and false gharial. It inhabited what is now the Indian sub-continent in the Miocene and Pliocene....
    • Genus †Toyotamaphimeia
      Toyotamaphimeia

      Toyotamaphimeia is an extinct genus of gharial from the Pleistocene of Japan closely related to the false gharial. This relationship is reflected in the fact that it was originally described as a member of the same genus, Tomistoma....
  • Subfamily †Gryposuchinae
    • Genus †Aktiogavialis
      Aktiogavialis

      Aktiogavialis is an extinct genus of crocodylian from the Oligocene Epoch some thirty million years ago. Only one species in the genus, Aktiogavialis puertoricensis, has been described so far....
    • Genus †Gryposuchus
    • Genus †Ikanogavialis
    • Genus †Siquisiquesuchus
    • Genus †Piscogavialis
    • Genus †Hesperogavialis


† Indicates extinct group