False gharial, Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial, False gavial, Falso gavial malayo, Faux gavial malais, Baja (Baya) Kanulong, Bediai Sampit, Boeaja, Buaja, Buaya, Buaya Jolong-Jolong, Buaya Sa(m)pit, Buaya Senjulong, Buaya Sepit, Jolong-Jolong, Malay gavial
The false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii ), also known by the names Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial and tomistoma is native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. This freshwater crocodilian in the family Gavialidae is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the global population is estimated at around 2,500 to 10,000 mature individuals.
The specific name schlegelii honors Hermann Schlegel.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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Apex predatorAn apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain and has no natural predators. These animals usually occup...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe tomistoma, also known as the false gharial, with a slender snout like the gharial, is an unusual crocodilian (a group that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials), about which there is not much information. It lives in freshwater. Juveniles are dark or chocolate brown and have black banding on their tail and body, with dark blotches on their jaws and a creamy white belly. These colors are mostly the same in adulthood.
Historically these animals lived in South East Asia in the Malay Peninsula, and on Borneo and Sumatra. Today in Thailand it seems to be extinct and is seen at low densities only (although the populations are widespread) in Indonesia and Malaysia. They may have been seen in Vietnam and Sulawesi. They inhabit freshwater swamps, lakes and rivers, preferring water that is slow-moving, and heavily vegetated habitats.
This species is solitary and can be active at any time of the day or night. It spends most of its time submerged in mud-holes or shallow wallows, with only its eyes and nostrils showing. Basking behavior, though not often observed, is probably used to aid thermoregulation. They may sometimes occupy burrows. The size of their home range and their territorial behaviors in the wild are not known. In captivity, many males and females are able to be housed in one enclosure with no obvious aggression. Communication between tomistoma individuals has not been reported in the wild. From observation of mating behaviors, it is assumed that they communicate through sight, touch and smell. Most crocodilians use a range of calls for communication purposes, but these have not been observed for tomistoma, and any mating behavior has been seen to be silent.
Tomistoma are opportunistic carnivores and sometimes grab monkeys (such as crab-eating macaques) from river banks, drowning their victim or beating it against a bank of the river. They also eat wild pigs, mouse deer, otters, fish, birds, turtles, dogs, snakes, monitor lizards, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates.
There is little knowledge about the natural mating behavior of false gharials, with most details from captive breeding programs, and only a few accounts about wild individuals. Crocodilians are typically polygynous, and males attempt to mate with multiple females. Breeding is from November to February and April to June, which are the wet seasons. These are mound-nesting crocodilians, and they usually build their mound on land near water at the base of a shady tree, using sand and a variety of vegetation such as peat, twigs, dried leaves and tree seeds. 20-60 eggs are laid and then the mother adds extra vegetation on the top of her nest. Mounds are usually 90-110 cm wide and 45-60 cm high. The incubation period is 90-100 days. Breeding in captivity has shown that a lot of vegetation improves breeding chances because there is more cover and material for nesting available to the female. The young are given no parental care when they hatch and must look after themselves. They reach maturity at about 20 years of age.
Habitat destruction as a result of such ongoing activities as the construction of dams, deforestation and channeling has been the major cause of this species’ decline. In addition, intensive hunting in the mid-20th century in some regions, especially Sumatra, also greatly impacted this species. Further threats are from fishing practices, where tomistoma can be caught in nets or poisoned by the toxins used for killing fish, and they are also in competition for the same food source as local fishermen.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total tomistoma population size is around 2,500-10,000 mature individuals. Currently this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) and its numbers today are decreasing.
