#gavialidae

[herpsandbirds]

False Gharial aka Malayan Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), subadult, family Gavialidae, found in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia

At one time, herpetologists believed this species should be placed in the crocodile family, Crocodylidae.

They are now placed in the Gharial family.

photograph by Yayasan Ulin

[thebeastsofindia]

Gharial or Ghavial (Gavialis gangeticus), male, in the front, family Gavialidae, order Crocodilia, India

The Gharial is not a true crocodile (a member of the family Crocodylidae) but is part of its own family, Gavialidae. There are only two living members of the Gavialidae.

Male gharials have a protruding chamber on their nose, called the “ghara” (named after a type of pot), hence the name gharial.

They primarily eat fish, rarely taking large prey

Critically Endangered

There is a mugger (Crocodylus palustris) in the background

Photo by Donna Pomeroy

[arminreindl]

Eocene gators and Miocene gharials

It's been a busy two-ish weeks for me once again with two "new" crocodilians dropping not even a week apart. These two newcommers couldn't be any more different, as you'll see soon enough.

The first of the two is not exactly a stranger, in more than one way. Sutekhsuchus dowsoni in truth has been known since 1920, when it was described as Tomistoma dowsoni based on fossils from Wadi Moghra in Egypt. Tomistoma being one of those genera that was a popular wastebasket for crocs. Broad snout and overbite? Alligator. Narrow snout? Tomistoma. Everything else? Crocodylus.

Tomistoma is still heavily affected by that, with the paper still referencing about half a dozen species of Tomistoma that are almost definitely not Tomistoma. In that regard, tho its not super new its fantastic to see that one of these Miocene circum-mediterranean forms finally gets its due (especially after having been unceremoniously been lumped into T. lusitanica for a while). Additional fun fact, the original "missinterpretation" as a species of Tomistoma is used as the basis for the new name, basically meaning "Set's crocodile" in reference to Sutekh/Set being god of deception.

Left: Sutekhsuchus by @paleomiguel Right: Sutekhsuchus by @manusuchus Go give them a follow

Another way in which Sutekhsuchus is not "new new" is that, intentional or not, the name was actually dropped a month ago without many people noticing. As has been pointed out to me by @paleomiguel, a recent paper on Eogavialis featured a phylogeny that contained Sutekhsuchus, a name I was not familiar with. However, the species name did ring a bell and after a brief search on google scholar I did find a reference to the then unpublished redescription.

Anyways, background aside Sutekhsuchus has some cool stuff going for it. Its anatomy is in some regards intermediate between the modern false gharial (which the paper regards as one of the basalmost gavialoids) and the Indian gharial (a highly derived weirdo). Ultimately, its just one of several species that lived around the broader Tethys Sea during the Miocene as part of a flourishing croc ecosystem. Given the warmer temperatures, it was in pretty good company. We know it from Gebel Zelten and Wadi Moghra, both of which preserve the bones of the robust Rimasuchus and the bizarre Euthecodon, both members of the Osteolaemines ("dwarf crocodiles", a name that makes more sense when you ignore these fossil forms). Both localities are interpreted as being somewhat coastal, consisting of lagoons, estuaries, slow moving rivers and surrounding forests.

Left: Rimasuchus attacking Zygolophodon by Michael Tripoli Right: Euthecodon arambourgi by yours truly

The other new crocodilian was much more of a surprise to me personally. Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche is a species of basal alligatorine from the Eocene of North Dakota. The genus name derives from the Dakota word for alligator, the species name references ethnic Germans that settled the region after emmigrating from the Russian Empire.

Ahdeskatanka via Cossette & Tarailo

It lived during the early Eocene in the Golden Valley Formation of North Dakota and in many regards resembles many early alligators of the time, having been small with a short and blunt snout and globular teeth well suited for crushing hard shelled prey.

During this time period North Dakota experienced the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum, an exceptional warm period that saw lush subtropical to tropical forests grow along the banks of meandering rivers and extensive swamps. Not great for mammalian carnivores but fantastic for crocodilians, of which there were plenty. The Golden Valley was home to at least 4. In addition to Ahdeskatanka there was a similar, possibly closely related unnamed form, a large crocodyloid similar to the ubiquitous Borealosuchus and the large caiman Chrysochampsa, a relic of a Cretaceous offshoot of the family.

Left: Borealosuchus by Wayne Hsieh Right: Chrysochampsa via Cossette & Tarailo

As always, here the respective Wikipedia pages and relevant publications

Sutekhsuchus: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutekhsuchus https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2024.2384548

Ahdeskatanka: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahdeskatanka https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2024.2403579

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Gharial?

We've done gharial before but it was in the early days of this blog (only about 100 votes), so I'll do it again :)

Have you seen the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onOct 10, 2024

[mesozoicmarket]

A fossilized crocodilian tooth, likely the gavialid Thecachampsa americana from Florida, United States. This species of Thecachampsa was previously referred to the genus, Gavialosuchus americanus. Unfortunately, most of the locale data on this specimen had been lost. These teeth are sometimes labeled as American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), but as far as I am aware of, the species does not occur in fossil deposits in Florida despite being extant in the state today. Most crocodilian fossils in Florida likely belong to either Thecachampsa or Alligator sp.

[saritawolf]

Gharials (female) (Gavialis gangeticus) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

No, that’s not a disfigured crocodile-- that’s a gharial! These crocodilians are named after their distinctive snouts, which resemble earthenware pots called ‘ghara’ made in their native India and Pakistan. Males use their growths to amplify mating calls underwater and to blow bubbles that attract females.

(Image: A proud gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) dad, by Dhritiman Mukherjee)

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

[snototter]

A False gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) in Singapore Zoo

by Andrew Grimshaw