myworldtravel.weebly.com The False gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial, false gavial, or Tomistoma (Tomistoma schlegelii) is a fresh-water reptile resembling a crocodile with a very thin and elongated snout, which is thicker than the gharial From a morphological standpoint, it has been originally placed within the family Crocodylidae, but recent immunological studies suggest that it is more closely related to the gharial than was originally thought. It, along with close fossil relatives such as Maroccosuchus, is sometimes classed in the family Gavialidae. The Tomistoma is a very large crocodilian, consistently reaching 5 and possibly even 6 meters in length. The false gharial is native to six river systems in Sumatra and Malaysia, along with the remote river systems of Borneo. It is extinct within all of Indochina where it has not been observed in the wild since the 1970s. Fossils found in Southern China and Taiwan indicate that this and closely related extinct species ranged further north in Asia earlier in the Tertiary. The false gharial, like all other crocodilian species, lays eggs. It is not known when the species breeds in the wild or when its nesting season is. It is a mound nester. Females usually mature at 23 m. Mated females will lay a clutch of 30-60 eggs in a mound of dry leaves or peat. Once the eggs are laid, and construction of the mound is completed, she abandons her nest. Unlike most other crocodilian species, the young receive no parental care and …