A large reptile related to crocodiles and alligators with a long narrow snout; also spelled gharial.
From Hindi 'ghariyal' or Sanskrit origins. The term traveled from Indian languages into English during the colonial period when British naturalists encountered these reptiles.
The gavial's absurdly narrow snout is perfectly adapted for catching fish, but it looks so bizarre that 19th-century Europeans thought it was a reptilian joke.
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