West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) Crocodilus cataphractus
Date between 1700 and 1880
Notes This object is part of the collection Iconographia Zoologica
Source/Photographer Iconographia Zoologica
Old Latin name Crocodilus cataphractus
New Latin name Mecistops cataphractus
Common name Nederlands: Pantserkrokodil
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
The West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus), or slender-snouted crocodile, is a critically endangered species of African crocodile. It is one of five species of crocodile in Africa. As with its relative, the West African slender-snouted crocodile has a very long, slender snout that it uses to catch fish and small aquatic invertebrates. As with all crocodilians, larger animals may feed opportunistically on larger prey if it becomes available.
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylidae
Genus: Mecistops
Species: Mecistops cataphractus (Cuvier, 1825)
Synonyms
- Crocodylus cataphractus Cuvier, 1825
- Mecistops bennettii Gray, 1844