Gharial
Amazing fact
The gharial senses water vibrations and pressure changes through tiny pits in its scales.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The gharial senses water vibrations and pressure changes through tiny pits in its scales.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Gharial
- Scientific name
- Gavialis gangeticus
- Japanese name
- インドガビアル
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Crocodilia
- Family
- Gavialidae
- Genus
- Gavialis
Where the name “Gharial” comes from
The English name 'gharial' comes from 'ghara', a word meaning a mud pot.
Smithsonian's National ZooA crocodilian of big rivers in the north of the Indian subcontinent. It usually leaves the water just to bask and to nest on sandbanks.
Its very long, slender jaws are lined with many sharp teeth that help it snap up fish quickly in the water.
Adult males grow a pot-shaped knob called a ghara on the tip of the snout, which makes their calls ring out with a loud buzz.
How the Gharial lives
It spends more time basking in winter than in summer. On very hot days, it keeps its head above water and submerges its body. It sometimes waits almost fully underwater without moving for prey to pass nearby. On land, it pushes its body forward while sliding its belly along the ground.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebSmithsonian's National ZooBasic data
- Size
- 4–6.5 m
- Weight
- 159–181 kg
- Active
- By day (diurnal)
- Range
- Northern Indian subcontinent
Where the Gharial has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- インドガビアル
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Gavialis gangeticusChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian's National Zoo — GharialChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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