Aquarium Reptile Complex (ARC)
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| Scientific Name: Tomistoma schlegeli |
| Description: |
False gharials, more accurately known as tomistomas, are some of the most unusual and little known of the crocodilians. Tomistomas are large, with males attaining lengths of up to five meters (16.5 feet). They are also some of the most beautiful of the crocodilians, having distinctive, long, slender snouts marked with dark blotches and light brown-colored bodies crossed with dark bands.
Gharials are another type of crocodile that inhabit cold-water rivers running out of the Himalayas in India and Nepal. They have extremely narrow snouts used for catching fish. Early British naturalists thought that tomistomas looked similar to gharials, but knew they were a different species, so they dubbed them "false gharials."
It was originally believed that tomistomas were fish eaters because of their narrow snouts, which were capable of moving quickly through the water. But, adult tomistomas at Riverbanks and other zoos proved inept at catching live fish. They did demonstrate a knack for catching food that was tossed to them before it hit the water. Consequently, Zoo herpetologists wondered if tomistoma snouts were designed to catch fish at all. Perhaps tomistomas fed on other, non-aquatic prey, like birds.
Credence was given to this theory when an 11-foot female tomistoma, sent from Riverbanks to the San Antonio Zoo, was observed catching grackles flying low over the pool in her new outdoor exhibit! Recent field studies have shown that tomistomas also feed largely on monkeys. |
| Range: |
| Tomistomas are now restricted to the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and other areas of Indonesia and Malaysia. |
| Status in the Wild: |
| Endangered. Tomistoma populations have been greatly reduced due to habitat destruction and hunting. Remaining populations are thought to be very small and highly fragmented. There is very little known about the ecology of this rare species. |
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