gavial

British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of gavial

C19: from French, from Hindi ghariyāl

Example Sentences

The only non-caiman was a gavial resembling modern ones in India, with a long, thin snout for fish-catching.

From Reuters • Feb. 24, 2015

A true crocodile, also, Crocodilus toliapicus, and another saurian more nearly allied to the gavial, accompany the above fossils; also the relics of several birds and quadrupeds.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

The huge reptile which threatened Helen’s safety was twenty feet in length, but the gavial sometimes attains the extraordinary dimensions of eight to nine yards.

From The Castaways by Pearse, Lolbran

The fierce gavial genus is Asian, and abounds in the rivers of India.

From Four Months in a Sneak-Box by Bishop, Nathaniel H. (Nathaniel Holmes)

Certainly there is none more to be dreaded than the gavial crocodile; yet the great ape, judging by its present attitude, was in no sense afraid of it.

From The Castaways by Pearse, Lolbran