Taxonomy
Nomenclature
Synonyms
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia (Laurenti, 1768) - reptiles
Order: Crocolidia - crocodilians
Family: Gavialidae (Adams, 1854) - gharials, gavials
Genus: Gavialis (Oppel, 1811) - gharial, gavials
Species: Gavialis gangeticus (Gemlin, 1789) - gharial, gavial
The gharial's species name, gangeticus, refers to the Ganges River, which flows through India and Bangladesh.
Gharials share river habitat with Ganges River Dolphin, a dozen species of turtles, and smooth-coated otters.
Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.
Brochu (2003)
Gatesy & Amato (1992)
Grenard (1991)
Hua & Jouve (2004)
King & Burke (1989)
St. John et al. (2012)