Fire skink
Lepidothyris fernandi
Dwarf crocodile
Osteolaemus tetraspis
The Dwarf crocodile is the smallest crocodile in the world. It is also known as the Armored crocodile in reference to the osteoderms (bony scales) covering its body, and in particular the 4 largest on its neck. Rather nocturnal, it spends the day, sheltered from the sun, in a hole of mud or vegetation, near a water point. He goes hunting at nightfall.
Habitat
Gallery forests, swamps of West-Central sub-saharan Africa
Feed
Fish, amphibians, crustaceans, gastropods
Classification
Class
Reptiles
Scientific Name
Osteolaemus tetraspis
Legal Status
IUCN: VU - Vulnerable (1996)
CITES: Appendices I (1992) / A (2022)
EAZA: BSE
Some Figures
Weight
18 to 32 kg (max 80 kg)
Life Expectancy
up to 60 years old
Incubation
2.5 to 3.5 months
10 to 20 eggs
Head Height
1.5m (max 1.9m)
Discover Also
American alligator
Alligator mississipiensis
Common flat-tail gecko
Uroplatus fimbriatus
Parson’s chameleon
Calumma parsonii
Red-headed turtle
Trachemys scripta elegans
West african false gavial
Mecistops cataphractus