Osteolaemus osborni

Osteolaemus osborni
Conservation status
Not evaluated  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I  [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Order:	Crocodilia
Superfamily:	Crocodyloidea
Family:	Crocodylidae
Genus:	Osteolaemus
Species:	O. osborni
Binomial name
Osteolaemus osborni Schmidt, 1919
Synonyms
Osteolaemus tetraspis osborni

Osteolaemus osborni, commonly known as Osborn's dwarf crocodile, is a species of crocodile endemic to the Congo Basin in Africa.

This species has had a somewhat convoluted taxonomical history. It was first described as Osteoblepharon osborni by Schmidt in 1919, based on a few specimens from the Upper Congo River Basin in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Inger in a 1948 paper found the specimens wanting of characteristics that would justify a generic separation from Osteolaemus and referred the specimens to Osteolaemus osborni. In 1961, it was reduced to subspecies rank, ^[2] but was revalidated to full species status in 2021. ^[3]

The Congo dwarf crocodile (O. osborni) is both the smallest crocodile and the smallest crocodilian since it does not surpass 1.2 m (3.9 ft). ^[4]

The genus name Osteolaemus means "bony throat", and is derived from Ancient Greek όστεον (ósteon), meaning "bone", and λαιμός (laimós), meaning "throat". The genus was named as such due to the osteoderms found among the scales in the neck and belly.

The specific epithet osborni is in honor of American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn. ^[5]

References

1. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
2. Wermuth, H. & R. Mertens (1961). Schildkröten, Krokodile, Brückenechsen. Veb Gustav Fischer Verlag.
3. Osteolaemus osborni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 22 September 2021.
4. Sprawls, S.; K. Howell; R. Drewes & J. Ashe (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Academic. pp. 276–277. ISBN   978-0-12-656470-9.
5. Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Osteolaemus osborni, p. 196).