gavial

/ ˈɡærɪəl, ˈɡeɪvɪəl /

noun

1. a large fish-eating Indian crocodilian, Gavialis gangeticus, with a very long slender snout: family Gavialidae

2. a SE Asian crocodile, Tomistoma schlegeli, similar to but smaller than the gavial

Word History and Origins

Origin of gavial¹

C19: from French, from Hindi ghariyāl

Example Sentences

“Most crocodilians are nocturnal,” says Woods, referring to the group of animals that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gavials.

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The habits of the whole family—gavials and alligators, crocodiles, caymans, and jacarés—are so much alike, that it seems a cruelty to separate them.

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Another thing, that bayou is 55 chuck full of alligators, and a fellow down on the Rand told me they’re like the Central American gavials for keenness to nip a swimmer.”

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Alligators are found in most of the rivers, and the gavial is less frequently met with.

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Habitations of reptiles.—Of the great saurians, the gavials which inhabit the Ganges differ from the cayman of America, or the crocodile of the Nile.

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