Gharial

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gharial

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Gavialis gangeticus
2. What is the diet?Primarily piscivorous, with a diet consisting mainly of fish
3. What does a gharial look like?A gharial has a very long, narrow snout that can be about 30% of its body length. It has around 110 sharp, interlocking teeth and, in adult males, a round bump on the snout that looks like a pot.
4. Why do gharials have such a long snout?The long snout lets gharials strike quickly at fish and keeps the fish from escaping, so they use less energy when hunting.

Piscivorous: An animal that primarily eats fish.
Morphology: The study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.
Anthropogenic: Originating in human activity.
Ontogenetic Shift: A change in an organism's characteristics or behavior that occurs as it matures from juvenile to adult.