Gharial

The gharial is a critically endangered crocodilian native to river systems of the Indian subcontinent, principally in India and Nepal, unmistakable among crocodilians for its extremely long, narrow snout lined with many sharp interlocking teeth, an adaptation specialized almost entirely for catching fish. Adult males develop a distinctive bulbous growth at the tip of the snout called a ghara, used to produce sound and bubbles during courtship displays, from which the species takes its common name. Unlike most crocodilians, the gharial is almost entirely aquatic and poorly adapted for moving on land, where it can only push itself along on its belly rather than walk on raised legs. It once ranged across major river systems throughout the Indian subcontinent but has been reduced to a small fraction of its historic range and population due to habitat loss from dam construction and sand mining, entanglement in fishing nets, and hunting, with only a few small breeding populations remaining in the wild, most within protected river sanctuaries.