Ganges Gavial Skull Replica

$681.00

The Ganges Gharial is well adapted to hunting fish because of its sharp interlocking teeth and long narrow snout, which meets little resistance in the water and swallows it whole. Juvenile Gharials jerk their heads back to maneuver fish into their gullets, sliding them in head first.

Description

Ganges Gavial Skull Replica measures 31 inches. The Ganges Gavial Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

Ganges Gavial or Tomistoma schlegelii, also known as the Gavial, and Fish-eating crocodile is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae, native to sandy freshwater river banks in the plains of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.

Ganges Gavial or Tomistoma schlegelii snout is very long and narrow, with 27 to 29 upper and 25 or 26 lower teeth on each side. The front teeth are the largest. The first, second, and third mandibular teeth fit into notches in the upper jaw. The nasal bones are rather short and widely separated from the premaxilla.

The nasal opening is smaller than the supratemporal fossae. The jugal bone is raised and the extremely long symphysis extends to the 23rd or 24th tooth. The snout is dilated at the end. It becomes proportionally thicker with age. The long, needle like teeth are individually socketed.

Ganges Gavial or Tomistoma schlegelii is dark reddish-brown above with dark brown or black spots and cross-bands on the back and tail. Ventrals are grayish white, with some lateral dark mottling.

Juveniles are mottled with black on the sides of the jaws, body, and tail. The smooth and unornamented snout is extremely long and slender, parallel sided, with a length of 3.0 to 3.5 times the width at the base. All teeth are long and needle-like, interlocking on the insides of the jaws, and are individually socketed.

Ganges Gavial or Tomistoma schlegelii has one of the slimmest snouts of any living crocodilian, perhaps comparable to the slender snouted crocodile and the freshwater crocodile in the extent of slenderness, only that of the gharial is noticeably more slim. The Ganges Gavial or Tomistoma schlegelii is a large crocodilian.

In addition to fish and smaller aquatic animals, mature adults prey on larger vertebrates, including proboscis monkeys, long tailed macaques, deer, water birds, and reptiles.

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Additional information

Weight 22 lbs
Dimensions 31 in
Ganges Gavial Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Gavialidae
Subfamily: Tomistominae
Genus: Tomistoma
Species: T. schlegelii
Binomial name: Tomistoma schlegelii
Conservation status: Vulnerable