Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: December 31st, 2022.
 
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Genus
Mecistops
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African Slender-snouted Crocodiles, African Sharp-nosed Crocodiles
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Panzerkrokodile
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Panserkrokodiller
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1844 |  |
Mecistops Gray (type species: Mecistops bennettii Gray 1844) |
Contents:
2 species, none of which are endemic.
Endemism: 0%  100%
Remarks:
Until recently regarded as a synonym of Crocodylus
(e.g., Wermuth & Mertens 1977).
Schmitz, Mansfeld, Hekkala, Shine, Nickel, Amato & Böhme (2003) suggested the possible future recognition of Mecistops as a valid genus.
McAliley, Willis, Ray, White, Brochu, & Densmore (2006) presented evidence supporting its validity.
Distribution:
Angola
(incl.
Cabinda),
Burundi,
Cameroon,
Central African Republic,
Congo-Brazzaville,
Congo-Kinshasa,
Equatorial Guinea
(Rio Muni),
Gabon,
Gambia,
Ghana,
Guinea,
Ivory Coast,
Liberia,
Nigeria,
Sierra Leone,
Tanzania,
Togo,
Zambia.
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Mecistops cataphractus
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West African Slender-snouted Crocodile
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Westafrikanische Panzerkrokodil
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Vestafrikansk Panserkrokodille
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1825 | |
Crocodilus cataphractus Cuvier |
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Mecistops cataphractus Gray 1844 |
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1844 | |
Mecistops bennetti Gray (syn. Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018) |
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1974 | |
Crocodylus cataphractus congicus Fuchs, Mertens & Wermuth (nomen nudum and nomen dubium; fide Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018) |
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Mecistops cataphractus congicus McAliley, Willis, Ray, White, Brochu, & Densmore 2006 [by implication] |
Remarks:
Presence in many areas of the historical distribution of the species is doubtful.
Considered absent in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, based on lack of recent (or any) documentation
(Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
May also be extirpated in Nigeria (Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
Introduced to:
USA
(Florida).
Distribution:
Gambia,
Ghana,
Guinea,
Ivory Coast,
Liberia,
Nigeria,
Sierra Leone,
Togo.
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Mecistops cataphractus
© Rune Midtgaard
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Mecistops leptorhynchus
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Central African Slender-snouted Crocodile
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Zentralafrikanische Panzerkrokodil
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Centralafrikansk Panserkrokodille
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1835 | |
Crocodilus leptorhynchus Bennett |
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Mecistops leptorhynchus Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018 |
Remarks:
Previously regarded as a synonym of cataphractus (e.g., Wermuth & Mertens 1977).
Revalidated as a separate species by Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu (2018).
Continued presence in Angola (Cabinda) and Tanzania is uncertain (Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
Burundi is included in the distribution, based on an unconfirmed sighting (Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
Regarded as extinct in Chad (Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
A record from Bioko (Equatorial Guinea) is presumably based on a specimen caught on the mainland (Shirley, Carr, Nestler, Vliet & Brochu 2018).
Introduced to:
Equatorial Guinea
(Bioko).
Distribution:
Angola
(incl.
Cabinda),
Burundi,
Cameroon,
Central African Republic,
Congo-Brazzaville,
Congo-Kinshasa,
Equatorial Guinea
(Rio Muni),
Gabon,
Tanzania,
Zambia.
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