Dwarf crocodile
Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861
The dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) is a reptile in the crocodilian family Crocodylidae, order Crocodylia, also called the Broad-nosed crocodile, Orange cave crocodile, African dwarf crocodile or West African dwarf crocodile. It falls in the medium size class, with a representative adult body mass of 18.8 kg.
Quick facts about the dwarf crocodile
The IUCN Red List classes it as Vulnerable, a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 42.2 years, with up to 69 years reported.
- Weight
- 18.8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 1.9 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 42.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 69 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 97.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 10 – 20src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the dwarf crocodile
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the dwarf crocodile live?
Not recorded
What is the dwarf crocodile?
The dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), also known as the African dwarf crocodile, West African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile (a name more often used for the Asian mugger crocodile) or bony crocodile, is an African osteolaemine crocodile that is also the smallest extant living species of crocodile.
From the Wikipedia article “Dwarf crocodile” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dwarf_crocodile&oldid=1382598348), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the dwarf crocodile endangered?
The dwarf crocodile is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the dwarf crocodile classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderCrocodylia
- familyCrocodylidae
- genusOsteolaemus
- SpeciesOsteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861
Synonyms Crocodilus frontatus, Halcrosia afzelii, Halcrosia nigra, Osteolaemus tetraspis tetraspis, Osteolaemus tetraspis tetraspis
Other names and names in other languages (35)
- African dwarf crocodileEnglish
- African dwarf crocodileEnglish
- Broad-nosed crocodileEnglish
- Orange cave crocodileEnglish
- West African dwarf crocodileEnglish
- West African dwarf crocodileEnglish
- DwergkrokodilAfrikaans
- تمساح قزمArabic
- crocodilu nanuAsturian
- krokodýl čelnatýCzech
- krokodýl čelnatý západoafrickýCzech
- Vestafrikansk DværgkrokodilleDanish
- StumpfkrokodilGerman
- Cocodrilo Chico AfricanoSpanish
- Cocodrilo enano africanoSpanish
- KääpiökrokotiiliFinnish
- Crocodile nainFrench
- Crocodile à front largeFrench
- Crocodile à nuque cuirasséeFrench
- Crocodile nain AfricainFrench
- tompaorrú krokodilHungarian
- OsteolemoItalian
- Coccodrillo nanoItalian
- ニシアフリカコガタワニJapanese
- ニシアフリカコビトワニJapanese
- 난쟁이악어Korean
- VestdvergkrokodilleNorwegian Bokmål
- BreedvoorhoofdkrokodilDutch
- krokodyl krótkopyskiPolish
- Crocodilo-anãoPortuguese
- JimbololoPortuguese
- Тупорылый крокодилRussian
- จระเข้แคระThai
- Крокодил карликовийUkrainian
- 侏儒鱷Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the dwarf crocodile
Other species in the same genus Osteolaemus.
Congo dwarf crocodile
Osteolaemus osborni
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the dwarf crocodile?
The dwarf crocodile is a reptile, a crocodilian in the family Crocodylidae and genus Osteolaemus.
How heavy is the dwarf crocodile?
Its representative adult body mass is 18.8 kg, placing it in the medium size class.
Is the dwarf crocodile endangered?
The dwarf crocodile is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does the dwarf crocodile live?
Its lifespan is given as 42.2 years, and the highest value reported is 69 years.
How many eggs does the dwarf crocodile lay?
A clutch holds 11.65 eggs, with 1 clutch per year, and the eggs incubate for 97.5 days.
When does the dwarf crocodile reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 5 years (1,825 days).
Who named the dwarf crocodile?
The scientific name Osteolaemus tetraspis was given by Cope, 1861.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-crocodile
“Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-crocodile.
@misc{dwarf_crocodile_2026,
title = {Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dwarf-crocodile},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}