Osteolaemus osborni

Osteolaemus osborni
Conservation status
Not evaluated  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Order:	Crocodilia
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 specific name, 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).