Osteolaemus osborni

Species of reptile

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 specific name, osborni, is in honor of American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn.^[4]

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. 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).