False gharial
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(Redirected from Tomistoma)
| False Gharial | ||||||||||||||
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| Tomistoma schlegelii (Müller, 1838) |
The false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) is a fresh-water reptile, resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout resembling that of the gharial, hence its name.
The false gharial is native to six river systems in Sumatra and Malaysia. From a morphological standpoint, it has long been classed in the family Crocodylidae; however, recent immunological studies have shown that it may be more closely related to the gharial than was originally thought, and should perhaps be classed in the family Gavialidae.
