False gavial - false gavial (English spelling)

A crocodile of the family Crocodylidae, order Crocodyliidae, class Reptilia. Also known as the Malayan gavial. It is classified as part of the subfamily Gavialinae along with the genus Gavialis and the genus Mecistops due to the common shape of the joint bone in the lower jaw, and is particularly long and slender among the crocodiles. It is found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra, and is 4 to 5 meters long. Its snout is long and slender, but its nasal bone is connected to the premaxilla. It lives in freshwater rivers and swamps, and feeds on fish and small mammals. It is often confused with the gavial because of the shape of its snout and its body color and markings, but its snout is not octagonal, and it has about 20 teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws (the gavial has 29 on the upper jaw and 26 on the lower jaw).

[Takahiro Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

爬虫(はちゅう)綱ワニ目クロコダイル科のワニ。別名マレーガビアル。クロコダイル科のなかでもとくに吻部(ふんぶ)が細長く、下あごの関節骨形状の共通性からガビアル属Gavialis、クチナガワニ属Mecistopsとともにガビアル亜科に含まれる。マレー半島、ボルネオ島、スマトラ島に分布し、全長4～5メートル、吻部は細長いが鼻骨は前上顎骨(がくこつ)と接する。淡水の河川や沼にすみ、魚類や小哺乳類(ほにゅうるい)などを食べる。吻部の形状、体色斑紋(はんもん)がガビアルに類似するためよく混同されるが、吻端が八角形ではなく、歯数も上下のあごとも片側に20個（ガビアルでは上あご29個、下あご26個）ぐらいである。

［松井孝爾］

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