dwarf crocodile

dwarf crocodile, (Osteolaemus tetraspis), the world’s smallest living crocodile species, growing to a maximum length of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) and a maximum weight of 45.4 kg (100 pounds). The species inhabits swamps and small freshwater streams in sub-Saharan western and central Africa, from Guinea east to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and south to northern Angola. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists the dwarf crocodile as a vulnerable species.

Natural history

Dwarf crocodiles are best known for their small stature, with few growing larger than a medium-sized dog, but they are also known for their dark coloration. In adults, the head and tail and the top and sides of the body are predominantly charcoal-colored, and the underside is light yellow. As in other crocodile species, the outer layer of the hide is covered with thick scales made of keratin. The hide of juvenile crocodiles is also dark but with yellow bands on the top and sides of the body. Dwarf crocodiles are sexually dimorphic in that males tend to be heavier than females.

These crocodiles are primarily nocturnal hunters that forage for prey on land. Their diet is made up mostly of invertebrates, including beetles and other insects and millipedes, but it may also include small mammals and amphibians. They spend most of the day resting in the water, where, when given the opportunity, they consume fishes, insect larvae, and other small animals. In turn, dwarf crocodiles are preyed upon by larger vertebrates, including mongooses and genets among mammals, herons, monitor lizards, and other crocodiles. Some individuals have been observed climbing trees to rest in the relative safety of the lower branches.

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Dwarf crocodiles reproduce during the rainy season, which typically lasts from June to October. During the early part of this period, males will make low-pitched drumlike vocalizations to attract mates, and individual males may fight with one another for females. After mating, a female dwarf crocodile builds a mound-shaped nest several meters away from the water’s edge. She deposits 10–20 fertilized eggs in the mound, which she guards while incubating the eggs for roughly three months, until they hatch. The mound is made up of fallen leaves and other vegetational debris, whose decomposition serves as a heat source that aids incubation. The calls of newly hatched young prompt the mother to excavate the mound to free them before transporting them to the water. Young dwarf crocodiles will remain in their mother’s care (and possibly their father’s) before they disperse. Individuals of both sexes become sexually mature between ages 5 and 6. Some sources report that dwarf crocodiles may live as long as 50–100 years in the wild (see also life span).

Conservation status

Since 1996 the IUCN has considered the dwarf crocodile to be a vulnerable species. Although it occurs widely throughout West Africa—numbering from 25,000 to 100,000 individuals, according to estimates—many local populations and habitats have been reduced by human activity. Dwarf crocodiles are hunted for their hides and meat in some regions and killed as pests in others. Moreover, a substantial amount of their habitat throughout the region has been lost to logging, oil palm cultivation, and expansion of grazing land. Several individuals live in zoos and on ranches throughout the world.