Commemorative stamp series - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1985 - 85 Pfennig

Animals threatened with extinction With the illustrations of several endangered species, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the German Democratic Republic issues five multi-colored special postage stamps. Special cancellation from 25th June to 24th August 1985 Animals in danger of extinction 85th pfennig value: Sunda gavial (Tomistoma schlegeli) This armored reindeer, a representative of the Crocodylidae, grows four and a half to five meters long. Typical of the species is the long drawn, narrow muzzle, similar to the Ganges Gavial. When teeth are open, you can see a variety of teeth, in the upper jaw on each side 20 to 21, in the lower jaw 19 to 20. The ever rarer Sunda Gavial inhabits the Hindi peninsula of Malacca and the major islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. He is a freshwater dweller and specializes in catching fish. The Sunda Gavial is generally not very active, lies in the most intense sunshine with its mouth open on a sandbar, but usually remains motionless and submerged in the water. There are no written announcements about his reproductive biology, although the species has already been bred in the Samutprakarn crocodile farm near Bangkok. In the zoological gardens of the whole world, on the other hand, only a few specimens live. In the GDR, Sunda-Gaviale are held only in the zoological garden Leipzig and in the Tierpark Berlin.