Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Rank Superfamily Length Gharial: 3 – 5 m | Mass Gharial: 160 – 250 kg Higher classification Crocodiles Order Crocodiles | |
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Similar Alligatoroidea, Crocodiles, Gryposuchus, Borealosuchus, Thoracosaurus | ||
Gavialoidea is one of three superfamilies of crocodylians, the other two being Alligatoroidea and Crocodyloidea. Although many extinct species are known, only the gharial Gavialis gangeticus and the false gharial Tomistoma schlegelii are alive today.
Classification
Gavialoidea contains the family Gavialidae and several more basal extinct forms such as Thoracosaurus and Eosuchus. Within Gavialidae are two subfamilies: Gavialinae, which includes the living gharial, and Gryposuchinae, which includes several extinct forms such as Gryposuchus and Aktiogavialis.
In addition to these groups, recent molecular studies consistently indicate that the false gharial (and by inference other related extinct forms) traditionally viewed as belonging to the crocodylian subfamily Tomistominae actually belong to Gavialoidea. As its name suggests, the false gharial was once thought to be only distantly related to the gharial despite its similar appearance. The false gharial and other tomistomines were traditionally classified within the superfamily Crocodyloidea as close relatives of crocodiles. This classification is based on morphological evidence, which, when incorporated into phylogenetic analyses, often place the group within Crocodyloidea.
Below is a cladogram from Vélez-Juarbe et al. (2007) showing the phylogenetic relationships of members of Gavialoidea, excluding tomistomines.