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ZoPteryx — Last of an Ancient Lineage
#alligator #ancient #caiman #crocodile #gharial #prehistoric #reptile #sandiegozoo #eocene #crocodyliform #crocodylian #falsegharial #tomistoma #lastofanancientlineage #ancientlineage
Published: 2015-04-03 05:33:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 1762; Favourites: 35; Downloads: 8
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Description
The False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) is a vulnerable species of crocodilian native to southeast Asia. Originating in the Eocene, this species is but the last in a long line of many ancient forms, some of which grew to impressive sizes, matching or even exceeding those Mesozoic titans like Deinosuchus and Sarcosuchus. Hopefully, their lineage will continue far into the future as well; perhaps once again it will even spawn giants.Photo taken at the San Diego Zoo, CA.
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Comments: 9
Was this photo taken next to the Pygmy Hippos?
If it was, then that's a Slender-Snouted Crocodile.
I can tell because my picture has the same fence in the background and is behind glass.
sinusonasus1.deviantart.com/ar…
The San Diego Zoo's Crocodilians page does not have the False Gharial listed as being in its collections. See here: animals.sandiegozoo.org/animal…
TIP- (Click on "at the zoo")
However, the Los Angeles Zoo has two False Gharials in an open air exhibit.
sinusonasus1.deviantart.com/ar…
It's ok that you got the ID wrong, as these two species are extremely hard to tell apart and there aren't any side-to-side comparisons in videos or pictures I could find online, unlike the zillions of American Alligator/American Crocodile comparison videos out there.
Mecistops has evenly-spaced square-shaped markings on the lower jaw but in Tomistoma they are on the upper jaw and are more rectangular/oval or missing, but this varies individually, and is only from what I've seen in pictures and at zoos so this may not be a reliable ID criteria. The differences in the cervical scutes are the best way to distinguish the two.
Even Darren Naish of Tetrapod Zoology got confused! See Here!
blogs.scientificamerican.com/t…
Hope this helps!
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Biggest proof against :
''' Spinosaurus jaw is weak it cannot hunt anything ''' Trolls
By the way; this species are the only (known) species (of crocodiles) who didn't care about their young
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Yep; thought abondoning their infant behaviore (slightly) İs cruel; but that's nature !
İf it allows Baby eating loving Komodo's; this dude isn't a problem
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Despite being thought of as having thin jaws, it actually has quite impressive jaws as an adult and can bring down land animals.
This is best analogue we have to spinosaurs in terms of jaw mechanism, and given that this animal turned out to be a lot more impressive than thought, spinosaurs may well have been.
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Yep, definitely one of those underestimated predators.
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Thin-jawed crocodilians are much more impressive than thought-even the gharial will take a chance with land animals sometimes.
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What a beauty. 
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