What does gavial mean?

Definitions for gavial
ˈgeɪ vi əlgavial

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word gavial.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. gavial, Gavialis gangeticusnoun

    large fish-eating Indian crocodilian with a long slender snout

Wiktionary

  1. gavialnoun

    A crocodile-like reptile with long, narrow jaws (species Gavialis gangeticus); one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae.

Wikipedia

  1. gavial

    The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6–4.5 m (8 ft 6 in – 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3–6 m (9 ft 10 in – 19 ft 8 in). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. The gharial probably evolved in the northern Indian subcontinent. Fossil gharial remains were excavated in Pliocene deposits in the Sivalik Hills and the Narmada River valley. It currently inhabits rivers in the plains of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is the most thoroughly aquatic crocodilian, and leaves the water only for basking and building nests on moist sandbanks. Adults mate at the end of the cold season. Females congregate in spring to dig nests, in which they lay 20–95 eggs. They guard the nests and the young, which hatch before the onset of the monsoon. The hatchlings stay and forage in shallow water during their first year, but move to sites with deeper water as they grow. The wild gharial population has declined drastically since the 1930s and is limited to only 2% of its historical range today. Conservation programmes initiated in India and Nepal focused on reintroducing captive-bred gharials since the early 1980s. Loss of habitat because of sand mining and conversion to agriculture, depletion of fish resources and detrimental fishing methods continue to threaten the population. It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007. The oldest known depictions of the gharial are about 4,000 years old and were found in the Indus Valley. Hindus regard it as the vehicle of the river deity Gaṅgā. Local people living near rivers attributed mystical and healing powers to the gharial, and used some of its body parts as ingredients of indigenous medicine.

ChatGPT

  1. gavial

    A gavial, also known as gharial, is a large semi-aquatic reptile that belongs to the crocodile family. It is characterized by its long, narrow snout and is native to the Indian subcontinent. It primarily feeds on fish and is considered one of the longest of all living crocodilians.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Gavialnoun

    a large Asiatic crocodilian (Gavialis Gangeticus); -- called also nako, and Gangetic crocodile

  2. Etymology: [Hind. ghaiyl: cf. F. gavial.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Gavial

    gā′vi-al, n. the East Indian species of crocodile, with very long slender muzzle. [Adapted from Hindustani ghariyāl, a crocodile.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of gavial in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of gavial in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7


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"gavial." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/gavial>.

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