Crocodylus cataphractus

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA REPTILIA CROCODYLIA CROCODYLIDAE

Scientific Name: Crocodylus cataphractus
Species Authority: Cuvier, 1825
Common Name/s:
English – African Gharial, African Sharp-nosed Crocodile, African Slender-snouted Crocodile, Long-nosed Crocodile, Long-snouted Crocodile, Long-snouted West-African Crocodile, Loricate Crocodile, Panzer Crocodile, Subwater Crocodile
French – Crocodile à museau allongé d'Afrique, Crocodile à museau étroit, Faux gavial Africain, Faux-gavial d'Afrique
Spanish – Cocodrilo hociquifino Africano
Synonym/s:
Mecistops cataphractus (Cuvier, 1825)
Taxonomic Notes: Recent DNA and morphological studies suggest that this species may belong in its own monotypic genus, Mecistops (McAliley et al. 2006), but at present most continue to use Crocodylus as the genus for this species.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Data Deficient     ver 2.3
Year Assessed: 1996
Annotations:
Needs updating
Assessor/s Crocodile Specialist Group
History:
1994 – Vulnerable (IUCN)
1990 – Indeterminate (IUCN 1990)
1988 – Indeterminate
1986 – Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1982 – Indeterminate

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Occurs in central and western Africa.
Countries:
Native:
Angola; Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Nigeria; Sierra Leone; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Zambia
Possibly extinct:
Gambia; Guinea-Bissau; Senegal

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: A highly aquatic species, found primarily in riverine habitat with dense vegetation cover. Also found in large lakes. Individuals have been found in more brackish water, near the coast, and even on an offshore island (Bioko). These reports are unusual, but they do indicate a moderate tolerance of salinity.

Has terrestial nest sites and basking areas.
Systems: Terrestrial; Freshwater
Citation: Crocodile Specialist Group 1996. Crocodylus cataphractus. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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