Wildlifeof Thailand
Sunda Gharial
Crocodylidae
Photo: Justin Philbois (iNaturalist) · CC0
Tomistoma schlegelii
Basic stats
Diet
Fish and other vertebrates
Habitat
Peat swamps, lowland rivers and lakes
Range
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
The Sunda gharial is a large, slender-snouted crocodilian of peat swamps, lowland rivers and lakes in the Sundaic region. Its narrow jaws are well suited to catching fish, although larger individuals also take other vertebrates. Females build vegetation mound nests. Despite its common name, genetic evidence places it close to true gharials (Wikipedia, general species account). It is Nationally Extinct in the Wild (Thailand Red Data 2025).
Quick answers
- What does the Sunda Gharial eat?
- Fish and other vertebrates
- What habitat does the Sunda Gharial live in?
- Peat swamps, lowland rivers and lakes
- Where is the Sunda Gharial found?
- Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo