Gavial

Alternative forms

• gharial

Origin

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl).

Full definition of gavial

Noun

1. The crocodilian ; any species of the family Gavialidae.
• 2002, Pierre-Henri Gouyon, Jean-Pierre Henry, Jacques Arnould, Tiiu Ojasoo (translator), Gene Avatars: The Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution, Les avatars du gène: La théorie néodarwinienne de l'évolution, page 28,Cuvier had begun studying the fossils of crocodiles found near Caen and Honfleur in France. (They were, in fact, gavials, fine-jawed crocodiles that are nowadays found in India).
• 2006, Lynn Huggins-Cooper, Ravenous Reptiles, page 19,Although human remains and jewelry have been found in their stomachs, gavials are not as fierce as many alligators and crocodiles.
• 2011, Joseph T. Springer, Dennis Holley, An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World, page 415,Gavials (or gharials) are found only on the northern Indian subcontinent, where most are riverine, being best adapted to calmer areas in deep fast-flowing rivers.

Usage notes

Technically, extending the definition to family Gavialidae results in including just one other extant species: the false gavial (). However, the subfamily is often (perhaps usually) excluded from Gavialidae.

Synonyms

• (Gavialis gangeticus) fish-eating crocodile, gharial, Indian gharial
• (any species of Gavialidae) gavialid

Derived terms

• false gavial ()

Related terms

• gavialid