---
title: "What the sources say about the Gharial | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "52 claims from the Gharial profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Gharial (*Gavialis gangeticus*)

> 52 claims from the Gharial profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Gharial](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/gharial/)

## Gavialis gangeticus (Gharial). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gavialis_gangeticus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| up to 110 razor-sharp teeth | There are between 106 and 110 razor sharp teeth in the jaws |
| whose males grow a bulbous nasal resonator that buzzes as they exhale | This is a cartilaginous lid on the nostril of males that flaps when exhaling, producing a loud buzzing noise (note: "resonator" is the zoo's word: "acts as a vocal resonator") |
| Fast-flowing, clear freshwater rivers of Nepal and northern India | Indian gharials live in clear freshwater rivers with fast flowing currents. (note: Nepal and northern India is the current range from the zoo: "Today, only fragmented populations remain in Nepan and northern India.") |
| with sandbars for basking | They prefer sandbars in the middle of the rivers for both of these activities. |
| steep sand banks for nesting | Females locate a steep sand bank where they dig a nest. |
| a male's ghara that buzzes as he exhales | This is a cartilaginous lid on the nostril of males that flaps when exhaling, producing a loud buzzing noise |
| a cartilaginous lid on the nostril that flaps as the male exhales, making a loud buzz used in territorial defense and courtship | This is a cartilaginous lid on the nostril of males that flaps when exhaling, producing a loud buzzing noise, which is used during territorial defense and courtship. |
| Males also hiss and slap their jaws above the water | Males also hiss, and perform above water jaw slapping. |
| Between 106 and 110 teeth | There are between 106 and 110 razor sharp teeth in the jaws |
| line a long, slender snout built for catching fish | The snout is long and slender, specialized for catching fish. |
| Animal Diversity Web calls the gharial "probably harmless to human interests," with narrow jaws and thin teeth unsuited to attacking humans or large animals | This species is probably harmless to human interests. Indian gharials are sometimes believed to attack and eat humans, but this appears to be an unfounded fear. Indian gharials are generally not aggressive and have narrow jaws and thin teeth that are unsuited to attacking humans or large animals. |
| Animal Diversity Web says the larger males approach 6.5 meters | Males grow to be between 5 and 6 meters long, with the larger ones approaching 6.5 meters. |
| Because of that, Animal Diversity Web says, they usually leave the water only to bask and nest, preferring sandbars in the middle of rivers | Because Indian gharials are not well adapted for movement on land, they usually leave the water only to bask and to nest. They prefer sandbars in the middle of the rivers for both of these activities. |
| Animal Diversity Web puts the estimated adults at 436 in 1997 and 182 in 2006 | The decline from an estimated 436 adult Indian gharials in 1997 to 182 in 2006 represents a 58% drop across their range |
| Animal Diversity Web adds sand mining of river banks and gharials killed in gill nets | mining river banks for sand. ... Fishing also causes a problem when they are captured by gill nets and are killed in the process. |
| says the ghara's supposed properties are not based on research | However, both of these supposed medicinal properties are not based on research and it is unlikely that the eggs or the ghara benefit people in any way. |
| Animal Diversity Web describes three main hunting strategies | There are three main hunting strategies. |
| A gharial can sit and wait, floating almost completely submerged and motionless until prey passes right by | The sit and wait approach is where they float almost completely submerged under water and remain motionless until their pray passes right by them. |
| it can search slowly through the water, sensing vibrations with a sensory organ on its scales | The sweeping search involves an integumentary sensory organ found on the scales to sense vibrations in the water while slowly feeling through the water for prey. |
| or it can make a rapid strike, in which the thin jaw meets little water resistance for quick snaps underwater | The third hunting strategy is a rapid strike. The thin jaw creates low water resistance for quick snaps underwater. |
| Animal Diversity Web says the belief that gharials attack and eat humans appears to be an unfounded fear | Indian gharials are sometimes believed to attack and eat humans, but this appears to be an unfounded fear. |
| their jaws are specialized for eating fish, and they are not considered dangerous to people | Indian gharial jaws are specialized for eating fish and they are not considered dangerous to people. |
| The fear comes from human remains sometimes found in gharials' bellies | This fear stems from the fact that human remains are sometimes found in the bellies of gharials. |
| During a Hindu funeral ritual cremated remains are placed in rivers | During a Hindu funeral ritual, cremated remains of a body are placed in rivers. |
| many crocodilians swallow rocks as gastroliths that aid digestion and alter buoyancy, and the account says it is thought some remains and jewelry are swallowed the same way | It is a common practice for many crocodilians to ingest rocks to be used as gastroliths: hard objects that aid in digestion and alter their buoyancy. It is thought that some human remains and jewelry is ingested in a similar way. |
| dangerLevel: Low | Indian gharials are generally not aggressive and have narrow jaws and thin teeth that are unsuited to attacking humans or large animals (note: Low is 'Effectively harmless to people'; the same account calls the species 'probably harmless to human interests' and the fear of attacks 'an unfounded fear') |
| for a crocodilian whose males carry a cartilaginous lid on the nostril that flaps as they exhale, making a loud buzz | This is a cartilaginous lid on the nostril of males that flaps when exhaling, producing a loud buzzing noise |

## Gharial. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/gharial

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mainly fish as adults; juveniles also eat insects, crustaceans and frogs | Adult gharials primarily eat fish, while juveniles also feed on insects, crustaceans and frogs. |
| has an elongated, narrow snout that Smithsonian's National Zoo calls similar only to the tomistoma's | It has a characteristic elongated, narrow snout, similar only to the tomistoma (previously called the false gharial). |
| many sharp, interlocking teeth line its jaws | Many sharp, interlocking teeth line the gharial's elongated jaws. |
| Adult males develop a bulbous growth at the tip of the snout called a ghara, after the pot it resembles | Adult males develop a bulbous growth at the tip of their snout, called a "ghara" after the Indian pot it resembles. |
| the zoo says the word means mud pot | The word gharial is derived from the word ghara, which means mud pot. |
| the ghara also works on sight, as a visual signal for females | It is also a visual signal for females, helping males attract a mate. |
| Smithsonian's National Zoo gives males 5 to 6 meters | males reaching 16 to 20 feet (5 to 6 meters) in length |
| females typically 3.5 to 4.5 meters | Females typically grow to lengths of 11.5 to 15 feet (3.5 to 4.5 meters). |
| Weak leg muscles leave gharials poorly equipped for land: when they do cross it, they push themselves forward on their bellies | Because of their weak leg muscles, gharialsare poorly equipped for locomotion on land. Most of their movement takes place in the water. When they do move across land, gharials push their bodies forward across the ground, a motion known as belly-sliding. |
| Adults mainly eat fish, while juveniles also take insects, crustaceans and frogs | Adult gharials primarily eat fish, while juveniles also feed on insects, crustaceans and frogs. |
| Gharials once ranged across rivers in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan | Historically, the gharial's range spanned rivers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. |
| today only fragmented populations remain, in Nepal and northern India | Today, only fragmented populations remain in Nepan and northern India. (note: the source page prints "Nepan", an evident typo for Nepal (also the name it just used one sentence earlier); corrected in the profile's prose) |
| The zoo says the population declined 58 percent between 1997 and 2006 | Despite these efforts, the gharial population declined by 58 percent between 1997 and 2006. |
| Damming and diversion of rivers have drastically altered its habitat | damming and diversion of river for development and irrigation has drastically altered the gharial's habitat |
| males are hunted for their ghara, which is believed to have aphrodisiac properties | males are hunted for their ghara, which is believed to have aphrodisiac properties |
| That growth is the ghara, and Smithsonian's National Zoo says adult males develop it and that it is named after the pot it resembles | Adult males develop a bulbous growth at the tip of their snout, called a "ghara" after the Indian pot it resembles. |
| It has several jobs: it sits partly over the nostrils as a vocal resonator, making a loud buzz when the gharial vocalizes, and it is also a visual signal for females that helps males attract a mate | The ghara has several functions. It partially covers the crocodiles nostrils and acts as a vocal resonator, creating a loud, buzzing sound when the gharial vocalizes. It is also a visual signal for females, helping males attract a mate. |

## Cuff & Rayfield (2013). Feeding Mechanics in Spinosaurid Theropods and Extant Crocodilians. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065295

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a low-drag slashing strike | The gharial uses a slashing motion through the water to stun and capture fish [21] . Its longirostrine morphology leads to greater angular acceleration and therefore greater speed at the end of the rostrum [5] , [22] , and a narrow tubular morphology reduces surface drag |
| A 2013 paper comparing crocodilian and spinosaur snouts notes that the gharial slashes through the water to stun and capture fish, and that a narrow, tubular snout reduces surface drag | The gharial uses a slashing motion through the water to stun and capture fish [21] . Its longirostrine morphology leads to greater angular acceleration and therefore greater speed at the end of the rostrum [5] , [22] , and a narrow tubular morphology reduces surface drag (note: the paper states both points from earlier work (refs 21 and 6), hence "notes", not "found"; year and scope from the reference: Cuff & Rayfield (2013), Feeding Mechanics in Spinosaurid Theropods and Extant Crocodilians) |
| with skull size corrected for, the gharial's snout was the poorest of the three crocodilians tested at resisting bending and twisting | The large size of our gharial specimen leads to large second moment and moment of inertia values. However, when size-corrected, the gharial is the poorest performing of the three crocodilian taxa. (note: second moment of area and moment of inertia are the paper's measures of resistance to bending and torsion: "Resistances to bending and torsion in size-corrected, crocodilian upper jaws") |

## AnAge entry for Gavialis gangeticus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Gavialis_gangeticus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| lists 153 kilograms as the gharial's average adult weight | Life history traits (averages) Female sexual maturity 3,652 days Male sexual maturity 4,748 days Incubation 70 days Adult weight 153,000 g (note: 153,000 g converts to 153 kg; AnAge files it under "Life history traits (averages)", a single database value, not a range or maximum) |
| its longevity record is one captive female, reported to be at least 59 years old | Maximum longevity 59 years (captivity) Source ref. 1298 Sample size Small Data quality Acceptable Observations A female at least 59 years old was reported in captivity |
| weightKg: 153 | Adult weight 153,000 g (note: AnAge's life-history average; ADW's 159 to 181 kg range is also Heavy (100 to 1000 kg)) |

## Lang, Chowfin & Ross (2019). Gavialis gangeticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T8966A149227430.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2019-1.rlts.t8966a149227430.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Critically Endangered | Critically Endangered (CR) (note: category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List assessment, as verify:quotes does) |
| The IUCN Red List classifies the species as Critically Endangered | Critically Endangered (CR) (note: the assessment published in the Red List's 2019 update (e.T8966A149227430); category read through GBIF's current copy of the Red List) |