gavial

Etymology

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl).

noun

1. The crocodilian Gavialis gangeticus; any species of the family Gavialidae.
   Cuvier had begun studying the fossils of crocodiles found near Caen and Honfleur in France. (They were, in fact, gavials, fine-jawed crocodiles that are nowadays found in India). 2002, Pierre-Henri Gouyon, Jean-Pierre Henry, Jacques Arnould, “Gene Avatars: The Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution”, in Tiiu Ojasoo, transl., [1997, Les avatars du gène: La théorie néodarwinienne de l'évolution], page 28
   Although human remains and jewelry have been found in their stomachs, gavials are not as fierce as many alligators and crocodiles. 2006, Lynn Huggins-Cooper, Ravenous Reptiles, page 19
   Gavials (or gharials) are found only on the northern Indian subcontinent, where most are riverine, being best adapted to calmer areas in deep fast-flowing rivers. 2011, Joseph T. Springer, Dennis Holley, An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World, page 415