Just wanted to share a picture of wonderful creature, Tomistoma schlegelii. Its common name is False Gavial, which now is a name in error, since last year, it is a member of Gavilainae:

Willis, Ray E.; L. Rex McAliley, Erika D. Neeley and Llewellyn D. Densmore III 2007. Evidence for placing the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) into the family Gavialidae: Inferences from nuclear gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43 (3): 787-794.

Unfortunately, this is among the most, if not the most unknown of the crocodilian species and has received little attention. Unlike other crocodilian species, there has been very little success in breeding Tomistoma schlegelii in captivity. Their habitat, peat swamps, is often destroyed by fire and peat swamp does not recover from that kind of destruction and action is required to save what little they have left. Too often, the peat swamps are converted to oil palm plantations and other uses. Because so little is known about this species and so few people know about it, it is often overlooked and conservation efforts underfunded in favour of better known species.

This specimen is a sub-adult that was captive bred by the world's only successful Tomistoma schlegelii breeding programme- they are the only ones in the world to successfully breed this species every year.

Picture was taken at a private crocodilian breeding facility of the Youngprapakorn family, who hosted the Crocodilian Specialist Group, Tomistoma Task Force, Conservation Workshop.

Cheers,
Michael

Thanks for the info Michael! Look at those jaws! Definitely a painful picture in my head about being bit. lol

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***Tami***

wait, did someone say schlegel?

Thanks for sharing about a rare creature.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

A friend of mine, curator of reptiles at the Dusit Zoo, showed me some nasty marks left by a juvenile that raked his arm. They primarily use a sweeping motion when biting.

The large males bite down with some terrific force and create that loud popping sound of other adult crocodilians when closing their mouth hard. This is a full sized male that took 10 people to pull it out of its crate- it was part of an exchange with the Singapore Zoo.


Yes, Salomon Müller named the species after German herpetologist, Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884).

Funny Liz, lol. Very intersting Michael. It do have some sharp looking teeth :|

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

That's a cool looking crocadilian

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Looks like you picked the right username, Liz!

What interesting creatures. Are they native to Singapore?

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"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Wouldn't that be cool if he was a distant relative??? (my maiden name is Schlegel, and yes, my family is very German)

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Who?
The croc or the scientist?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

wise guy!

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.