It looks like a crocodile, but its mouth is narrower and longer. It belongs to a sub family of the gharials: Tomistoma, which means ‘sharp mouth’.
The false gharial is an endangered species. The main threats are loss of habitat through deforestation and agriculture, hunting and the removal of eggs from nests.
This species is named after Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884). Schlegel was the second Director of the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden.
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