Crocodiles part 11: Dwarf and Slender-snouted Crocodiles

These crocodiles live in the forests of Western and Central Africa. They don't look even remotely similar, but molecular studies have shown them to be closely related.

Central African dwarf crocodile (O. tetraspis), Lekedi Park, Gabon.

Central African dwarf crocodile being transported to a market, Okoyo, Congo.

Dwarf crocodiles are small denisens of remote forest swamps and streams of Western and Central Africa. As many rainforest crocs and caimans, they are little known. A recent study has found that there are three species of dwarf crocodiles.

Habitat of Central African dwarf crocodile, Korup National Park, Cameroon.

Central African dwarf crocodile, KNP, Cameroon.

Nesting site of Central African dwarf crocodile, KNP, Cameroon.

Wooden door decorated with slender-snouted crocodile images, Bamana People, Mali, c. 1900 AD. Metropolitan Museum, New York.

Dwarf crocodiles are rapidly disappearing from African forests because of bushmeat trade: they are easy to catch and transport alive from villages to city markets.

Congo dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus osborni), Ituri Forest, DR Congo.

Slender-snouted crocodiles, SAAFZP, Florida.

Slender-snouted crocodile, MCB, India.

Slender- snouted crocodile is a medium-sized species.

Slender-snouted crocodile, SAAFZP, Florida.

Slender-snouted crocodile, Lope National Park, Gabon.

Skull of a slender-snouted crocodile, Lekedi Park, Gabon.

It inhabits slow rivers of West and Central Africa, but is now very rare in most of its range. It feeds almost entirely on fish, and has very sharp teeth. It lays unusually large eggs, and has very long incubation period (over 100 days). Bronze figurine of a slender-snouted crocodile, Okoyo Region, Congo. Some observations suggest that females don't guard their hatchlings: the babies spread into reeds and flooded forests, then return to the river at the end of the rainy season.

Slender-snouted crocodile, LNP, Gabon.

Slender-snouted crocodiles, SAAFZP, Florida.

Slender-snouted crocodile, Croc World, South Africa.

But the pair I observed ar St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoo Park, Florida, took good care of its hatchlings.

Slender-snouted crocodile, Croc World, Umkomaaas, South Africa.

Slender-snouted crocodiles, SAAFZP, Florida.

Part 12: Nile crocodile

Back to Part 10

Home