Gavialis bengawanicus (SciiFii)

The Indonesian gharial (Gavialis bengawanicus), also known as the Indonesian gavial, is a species of crocodilian in the family Gavialidae that originally lived in Thailand and Indonesia during the early-to-mid Pleistocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced throughout the rainforests, wetlands, and riverbanks across Indonesia and Thailand to help boost biodiversity. The Indonesian gharial is among the largest longest of the modern-styled crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6–4.5 meters (8 feet 6 inches – 14 feet 9 inches) long, and males 3–6 meters (9 feet 10 inches – 19 feet 8 inches). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". Like the closely related Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), the Indonesian gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. It is one of the most thoroughly aquatic modern-styled crocodilian, and leaves the water only for basking and building nests on moist sandbanks. Adults mate at the end of the cold season. Females congregate in spring to dig nests, in which they lay 20–95 eggs. They guard the nests and the young, which hatch before the onset of the monsoon. The hatchlings stay and forage in shallow water during their first year, but move to sites with deeper water as they grow. The conservation status of the Indonesian gharial is Vulnerable due to some habitat loss and, historically, poaching, however, thanks to the conservationists, the Indonesian gharial is a protected species and its population has slowly increased in the couple of decades.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii