176 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement II 
Genus Mecistops Gray, 1844 
Mecistops cf. cataphractus (Cuvier, 1825) West African Slender-Snouted Crocodile 
Crocodilus cataphractus (Cuvier 1825:58). Holotype: RCSM 710 (collector unknown). Type locality: “Sene¬ 
gal,Fuchs et al. (1974b:3). 
Crocodilus cataphractus'. Peters (1877a:611), Bocage (1895a:9), Loveridge (1957:176), Frade (1963:252), 
Laurent (1964a:27). 
Crocodilus cataphractus cataphractus'. Fuchs et al. (1974b:3). 
Global conservation status (lUCN): Critically Endangered. 
Global distribution: A widely distributed species throughout West and Central Africa. 
Ocurrences in Angola (Map 122): This 
species occurs in northern Angola, close to the 
Congo basin. Cabinda: “Chinchoxo” 
[-5.10000, 12.10000] (Peters 1877a:611); 
“Zona de Cabinda “ [-5.55000, 12.18333] 
(Frade 1963:252); “cote de Loango” (Bocage 
1895a:9). Lunda Norte: “Dundo, canal de la 
Mussungue” [-7.25000, 20.50000] (Laurent 
1964a:27), “environs de Dundo” [-7.36667, 
20.83333] (Laurent 1964a:27); “environs de 
Dundo, R. Mussungue, affl. du Luachimo” 
[-7.41667, 20.83333] (Laurent 1964a:27); 
“Dundo, R. Luachimo, pres de T embouchure 
du fleuve Dilolo” [-7.60000, 20.86667] (Lau¬ 
rent 1964a:27); “affl. de la Luembe ± 70 km au 
SE de Dundo” [-8.37140, 21.59368] (Laurent 
1964a;27). 
Taxonomic and distributional notes: 
The taxonomy of African crocodiles is still 
unresolved. According to Schmitz et al. (2003) the species Crocodylus cataphractus (Cuvier, 1825) 
is not closely related to other Crocodylus species, and they considered C. cataphractus and Osteo- 
laemus tetraspis Cope, 1861 as sister species. McAliley et al. (2006) recommend the resurrection 
of the historic Genus Mecistops Gray, 1844 to accommodate this species, based on recent molecu¬ 
lar and morphological analyses that support the distinction of M. cataphractus from Crocodylus 
species. The recent mitochondrial DNA analysis of Feng et al. (2010) corroborates this interpreta¬ 
tion. Historically, M. cataphractus was widely distributed throughout West and Central Africa but 
recent studies by Shirley (2013) and Shirley et al. (2013) have found molecular and morphological 
support for two divergent taxa in this genus, one distributed entirely in West Africa and the other 
in Central Africa (lUCN 2014). Mecistops from Angola belong to undescribed species, occuring in 
Cabinda Province and Lunda Norte (Grigg and Kirshner 2015), although Shirley (2010) and 
Shirley et al. (2014) considered the distribution to exclude northeastern Angola. 
Map 122. Distribution of Mecistops cf. cataphractus in 
Angola. 
Genus Osteolaemus Cope, 1861 
Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861 African Dwarf Crocodile 
Osteolaemus tetraspis (Cope 1861:549). Syntypes: not located fide King and Burke (1989:14) (collector P. B. 
Du Chaillu [skin]; donation from Museum of the Pennsylvania University [skull of a half-grown individ¬ 
ual]). Type locality: “Ogobai River, Western Africa” (Cope 1861:550) [= Ogooue River], Gabon. 
