Impurest's Guide to Animals #50 - Gharial

Should old acquaintance be forgot? Not likely with a character such as last week’s creature, the grumpy Sarcastic Fringehead swimming around. Nor should we forget @ostyo and the primeval request that was put forth a few weeks ago. So sit back, and enjoy this scaly 50^th issue.

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Issue #50 - Gharial

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Chordata

Class – Reptillia

Order – Crocodillia

Family – Gaviallidae

Genus – Gavialis

Species – gangeticus

Related Species - The Gharial is one of two extant members of the family Gaviallidae, the other being the False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) (1)

Range

Gharial: More scaly then scary

The Gharial is a large crocodilian with males reaching a length of six meters and a weight of around 160kg. Distinguishable from most other crocodilians by its long narrow snout the male Gharial supports an enlarged boss on the end of its jaws. This boss resembles an earthenware pot commonly used in rural parts of India called a ghara, and is used to amplify calls (2). Gharials are the most aquatic of all extant crocodiles and are unable to assume the ‘high walk’ most other species can, and has to resort to a lizard like belly drag when moving on land.

Gharials are predominantly fish eaters, and swing their heads side to side to catch prey species swimming nearby. Gharials can also clap their jaws closed to momentarily stun prey, making them easier to catch (3). Besides man, an adult Gharial has few predators although the species does compete with the more common Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) for prey and nesting areas.

Gharials mate in the coldest part of the year, with the male uttering a buzzing hissing call amplified by the ghara on his snout to attract a harem of females. After mating the female will dig a nest on a sandbank, aggressively protecting the area until the young hatch shortly before the monsoon rains. The female and the male protect the young for up to half a year after hatching (4). Gharials are very slow growers and take between ten to thirteen years to reach sexual maturity.

Five To Save #5 - Terrestrial Reptiles

Reptiles have long been persecuted by man, with some religions going as far to demonize certain members of the group. Be it the western dragon burning down villages, the treacherous serpent of Christianity or the demon cobra known as the Naga in Hinduism there is good evidence of hatred for reptiles in our history. And while attitudes have mostly changed maybe reptiles have a reason to hate us back as more of their kin become threatened by the wide range of man-made problems.

Antiguan Racer (Alsophis antiguade) - Critically Endangered

Threats: Invasive Species - Now extinct on Antigua itself, the racer snake and its eggs became the victim of a misguided conservation attempt to save the island’s bird species from rat infestations. The introduction of the Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) was a death sentence to the snake, which had no defence against mammalian predators, relegating it to a few rat and mongoose free islands offshore.

Blue Mountains Water Skink (Eulamprus leuraensis) - Endangered

Threats: Habitat Fragmentation - The picturesque Blue Mountains east of Sydney have gone through rapid development for new housing and entertainment purposes. Development of these mountains has cut off populations of these already rare reptiles resulting in an increased chance of inbreeding and birth defects in the species.

Santa Catalina Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis) - Critically Endangered

Threats: Persecution - This rattleless rattle snake, found only on the island of Santa Catalina, has long been hunted for the pet trade or killed due to hatred of the species, something made easier by the snake’s placid behaviour. Several snakes have even been found left to starve in pit traps designed to prevent the snake from crawling up the sides and escaping.

Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) - Critically Endangered

Threats: Agriculture - The Siamese Crocodile lives in forested rivers in some of the most densely populated areas in the world. Encroachment of agricultural land causes conflict between crocodiles and man, usually resulting in the removal and killing of the former. In addition activates associated with agriculture such as the destruction of breeding sites and pollution of rivers also contributes to the crocodile’s problems.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) - Endangered

Threats: Recreation Activities - One of America’s best loved tortoises is threatened by the very people who love it. Be it from hunters shooting tortoises, road mortality or collection for the pet trade the Wood Turtle population has decreased by 80% over the last decade. In addition rubbish left behind by tourists in the turtle’s woodland home attracts scavengers that eat turtle eggs and hatchlings.

Bibliography

1 - www.arkive.org

2 - Stevenson, C. and Whitaker, R. (2010). Gharial Gavialis gangeticus pp. 139–143 in: Manolis, S. C. and C. Stevenson. (eds.) Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Third Edition. Crocodile Specialist Group, Darwin.

3 - GCA (2009). Gharial biology. Gharial Conservation Alliance

4 - Whitaker, R., Members of the Gharial Multi-Task Force, Madras Crocodile Bank (2007). "The Gharial: Going Extinct Again". Iguana14 (1): 24–33

Picture References

1 - http://rateeveryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gharial1.jpg

2 - http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/gharial/images/map.gif

3 - http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/D6/D6AFF82F-8170-4B82-9223-BBC682EAF01B/Presentation.Large/Gharial-male-bulbous-nasal-appendage-or-ghara.jpg

4 - http://images.mid-day.com/2012/nov/gharial.jpg

As we say goodbye to the Gharial we are left to ponder the fate of this magnificent creature, and whether it will still be here ten years from now. This trend continues with the next issue which features the request of @johnjo719 followed by an archived request from @foolsgold the week after. Until then critic, comment and drop requests as well as checking out past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary.

Happy Burns Night everyone

Impurest Cheese

@cbishop, @foolsgold, @ostyo,@wildvine,@samimista,@cattlebattle,@xwraith,@cgoodness,@ms-lola, @scorpion2501, @squares, @darthaznable,@scattered316,@bumpyboo,@knightsofdarkness2,@wolverine08,@dboyrules2011, @joshuadbr, @nighthunder, @johnjo719,@itsomething,@delphic, @dngn4774, @retconcrisis@bruxae, @jaken7, @ccraft, @wim_garnet, @johnny_blaze, @claymore1998, @ironspiderchan45 and @kfhrfdu_89_76k

Happy Burns Night Everyone.

Ha, nice shout out to Robbie Burns in your first sentence! (:P)

That is one skinny snout (? wrong word, I know), it makes me think of a hand saw. Being the immature _ss that I am, I giggled at the sound males make to get the females all up in their faces. I guess rude cat calling works with this particular animal.

Thanks so much for the information about the reptiles who are endangered. It's sad how ignorant most of us are about them.

Another great article, Doctor.

@ms-lola: Thanks being part Scottish it was an easy fit. You used the correct words, the Gharial has the skinniest snout of all the crocodilians And yes when I learned about the Santa Catalina Rattler I was infuriated, I've been waiting months for an endangered reptile so I could include it in the five to save feature

Great article that highlights the bias against one of my favorite animal groups, though I believe I've heard of non-villainous naga in folklore.

@scattered316: Thanks for the comment. And yYes I believe one of the Naga was a disciple of the Buddha

@impurestcheese: Woo, I love these guys! Why must people hurt such beautiful creatures...

@ostyo: Because people fear what they don't understand, plus theres the primal battle in the wild between our ape ancestors and the venomous snakes that lived in the same area. All one has to do to see this is look at how Vervet Monkeys react to reptiles that come into close proximity. Even something as harmless as a chameleon is reacted to in a fearful and aggressive manner

@impurestcheese: Yeah, don't believe in evolution so can't say I agree with the ape ancestors thing, but there definitely does seem to be a unreasonable natural fear in humans of bugs, reptiles, and anything else that isn't considered cute and furry. Turtles seemed to be well loved for some reason though.

I've always liked these too.

@xwraith: Cool thanks for the comment

@ostyo: Again it's the fear of things that are different and potentially dangerous. Fear itself is a hardwired protective instinct triggered by bad experiences that are converted into memory by the amygdala in the brain

@impurestcheese: Thanks.

I've personally never found any reptiles that scary.

@impurestcheese: Impurestcheese fears nothing though!

Very interesting.

Keep up the good work

@ostyo: Incorrect, everyone has the two primal fears; falling from a great height and sudden loud noises. Everything else is learnt from negative experience. For example after not only finding a giant centipede in my sleeping bag but also being bitten by one during my time in Indonesia I fear such a thing. But that fear comes from knowing that a bite equals excruciating pain, three days of fever dreams and vomiting.

@xwraith: Yep but then we can assume you haven't had any negative encounters with them, hence why you have no real fear of them.

@claymore1998: Thanks for the comment

@impurestcheese: I love high heights though. D: I climbed a 60ft cedar when I was only 5 years old.

@ostyo: What you enjoy is the rush in adrenal compounds your body creates because the amygdala is subconsciously s*****g itself, I mean I got free climbing for work at times but there are moments when I'm half way a wall or a cliff face when I'm like, "Oh **** why am I doing this?". It's also why when someone says don't look down that you get a bit of a twinge running through your body as the adrenaline starts flowing

Ooh. Look at this thing...

@impurestcheese: Interesting. I still believe Impurestcheese is fearless. Nothing stops Big Red! :0

@dboyrules2011: Huh? What about it? Oh wait you must be suprised because I seldom cover animals over a foot in length, well we have two largish animals coming up; one request and one animal to help celebrate the upcoming Year of the Goat

@ostyo: Well I do have the survivability of a Leaproach and the curiosity of a Caracal. Also found something you may find hilarious that relates back to the Axolotl discussion some time ago...

@impurestcheese: Don't forget you're a Croft too! :D

Hahaha, Salamander~

That's one Croc I think I could wrestle and win...

Does it hurt when they boop their Ghara on something? That thing has to get in the way.

Can they make hybrids with crocodiles?

Didn't they believe prehistoric crocodiles looked like this?? With a thinner snout and all?

@darthaznable: What about the dwarf crocodiles that only grow to a meter in length. And yes it probably does hurt which is why they are often found in clear unpolluted rivers. The Garra is actually a hindrance outside the mating season since the nostrils on the end of the bulge can't close probably. To remedy this the Gharial inflates the tissue inside blocking off it's airway completely

@ostyo: Yes hilarious

@cgoodness: Nope Gharials can't mate with crocodiles, generally an animal needs to be in the same genus to create viable offspring

@cattlebattle: Some of them yes. Rhamphosuchus for example was a giant Gharial that got to around 18m in length making it one of the largest crocodiles ever to exist.

Wow I didnt know about a rattle less rattle snake and some of those other endangered species. The Ghara has a skinny nose (or whatever it's called). BTW did you ever do one on the weird pink blob animal? It's nicknamed "the worlds uglyiest animal".

@ironspiderchan45: Thanks for the comment. No haven't done Blobfish yet and there are uglier creatures out there not widely known. Will add it to the list after Chinese New Year.

Cool stuff!

@bruxae: Cool thanks for the comment

@impurestcheese: ah I see

@ironspiderchan45: No problem, some of the worms covered in past issues have been hideous