BioSample

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a crocodilian in the Gavialidae family and among the longest of living crocodilians. Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long narrow snout and sharp interlocking teeth. (from Wikipedia entry). The gharial is endemic to India and is currently critically endangered. This sample was collected from an animal born in captivity at the San Diego Zoo, in California, USA, and coordinated and provided by Oliver Ryder, Marlys Houck, and Cynthia Steiner of the San Diego Frozen Zoo, to generate a high-quality reference genome for the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP). Sequencing and genome assembly were conducted at the Vertebrate Genomes Lab (VGL) at the Rockefeller University, led by Olivier Fedrigo and Erich D. Jarvis.