Crocodylus cataphractus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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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 Slender-snouted Crocodile, African Gharial, African Sharp-nosed 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 Published:

1996

Annotations:

Needs updating

Assessor/s:

Crocodile Specialist Group

Reviewer/s:

History:

1994	–	Vulnerable (Groombridge 1994)
1990	–	Indeterminate (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
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
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

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

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It is listed on CITES Appendix I.

Conservation Actions:

It is listed on CITES Appendix I.

Bibliography [top]

	Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland. Crocodile Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website Groombridge, B. 1982. The IUCN Amphibia-Reptilia Red Data Book, Part 1: Testudines, Crocodylia, Rhynocehapalia. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Groombridge, B. (ed.). 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. McAliley, L.R., Willis, R.E., Ray, D.A., White, P.S., Brochu C.A. and Densmore III, L.D. 2006. Are crocodiles really monophyletic?—Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 16-32.

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland.

Crocodile Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website

Groombridge, B. 1982. The IUCN Amphibia-Reptilia Red Data Book, Part 1: Testudines, Crocodylia, Rhynocehapalia. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Groombridge, B. (ed.). 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

McAliley, L.R., Willis, R.E., Ray, D.A., White, P.S., Brochu C.A. and Densmore III, L.D. 2006. Are crocodiles really monophyletic?—Evidence for subdivisions from sequence and morphological data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 16-32.

Citation:	Crocodile Specialist Group 1996. Crocodylus cataphractus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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