Tags:
crocodile
reptile
lizard
swamp
water
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Caiman and Turtles by National Geographic
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also called Indian gavial or gavial, is the only surviving member of the once well-represented family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodilians with long, slender snouts. The gharial is listed as a critically endangered species by IUCN. Gharials are exceeded in size only by the Saltwater Crocodile. Male individuals of up to 6 metres (20 ft) were commonly encountered in the past, but such large individuals are unknown today. Its elongated, narrow snout becomes proportionally shorter and thicker as an animal ages. The bulbous growth on the tip of a male’s snout renders gharials the only visibly sexually dimorphic crocodilian. (Wiki.)
A days-old Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, takes his first swim through the tannin-stained Louri Creek, deep in the heart of the 380,000-acre Loango National Park. (National Geographic)