Comments on: First Thai Tomistoma Since 1970

By: chalcosoma

chalcosoma — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:05:45 +0000

Great article, got a few questions:

1. You mention that Tomistoma han’t been seen since the 70s in Thailand. Can you direct me to any records of this? I’m interested in where Tomistoma used to occur in Thailand before it disappeared. What was its old range?

2. Any information on where this lake is in Sattahip? I’m keen to go and check the area out and try to get some pictures. It’s a rather unusual location since that’s very close to Pattaya (which is very developed and populated) while Tomistoma is know to be shy, inhabiting forested peat bogs. It raises the possibility that it was released from captivity.

Thanks

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:23:48 +0000

Great article, Loren.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:15:24 +0000

The family Gavialidae consists of only two surviving species, the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii).

“False” mostly is a label to denote they are not the “true” ones more generally known from India and Pakistan.

By: Arctodus

Arctodus — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:25:59 +0000

*Tomistoma* is no longer regarded as a “false gharial” but as a bona fide member of the Gharial family if IRCC.

Long live the resurgents!!!!

By: Alligator

Alligator — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:05:52 +0000

The St. Louis Zoo once had a pair that lived for decades. Probably the first ‘crocs’ I saw as a child. This could be a resurgence of the species. In the early 1970s, American Alligators were on the endangered species list and it was predicted that in another 10-20 years they would be extirpated in the wild. After poaching became a federal crime and was virtually eliminated, alligators started showing up in force, and not just smaller ones. It was learned that when poaching was in its heyday. alligators learned to submerge at the sound of motors, human voices or the sight of spotlights stabbing the darkness (not so stupid eh?) They would simply sink to the bottom and wait it out for 30 to 45 minutes. By that time the human threat had usually passed. It is conceivable that after being pushed to the brink in their native range, the few survivors of Tomistoma became stealthier than they had in generations past.

Small populations of Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) periodically turn up in isolated areas of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where they were previously thought to be extinct. Currently a survey is underway to try determine the exact status of the species.

The Marsh or Mugger crocodile (C. palustris) formerly existed in southeast Iran but was thought extinct. Recent evidence suggests a remnant population still survives, but the Iranian government and the mullahs are not too interested in crocodiles, so no one can go in to do a survey.

Let’s hope for the best with the Tomistoma. Maybe its not a resurgent population but an indication that some are hanging on in their former range.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:43:06 +0000

As someone with a strong interest in herps myself, I was happy to see this article. I think I would be more surprised by a true gharial making its way down to Thailand than a resurgence of the false gharial in this area. If this is indeed Tomistoma, it would be a truly wonderful comeback for the species in Thailand. Considering that it seems to have gone extinct relatively recently, in the 70s, I don’t think it is far fetched at all to think that a small population could have slipped by unnoticed and even started to recuperate its numbers.

By: Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:36:09 +0000

Oops! I missed the part where it said “extinct in that country”. I was wondering why one sentence said extinct and the next said extirpated. Thanks for setting the record straight. Thanks for the great story, I love “herps”!

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:40:02 +0000

Please re-read this blog if you think I said “extinct.”

Locally extinct, not seen in Thailand since 1970, and presently accepted range maps all detail something other than “extinct,” of course.

By: Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:33:30 +0000

The False Gharial is not extinct. There are at least two at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.