West African crocodile

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West African crocodile
Specimen in Bazoulé, Burkina Faso
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylidae
Genus: Crocodylus
Species:
C. suchus
Binomial name
Crocodylus suchus
Geoffroy, 1807
Synonyms
  • C. niloticus suchus

The West African crocodile, desert crocodile, or sacred crocodile (Crocodylus suchus)[2] is a species of crocodile related to — and often confused with — the larger and more aggressive Nile crocodile (C. niloticus).[3][4]

Taxonomy

Skull of a mummified specimen of C. suchus, 1870s

The species was named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1807, who discovered differences between the skulls of a mummified crocodile and those of Nile crocodile (C. niloticus). This new species was, however, long afterwards regarded as a synonym of the Nile crocodile. In 2003, a study resurrected C. suchus as a valid species,[3] and this was confirmed by several other studies in 2011–2015.[5][6][7]

Despite the long history of confusion, genetic testing has revealed that the two are not particularly close. The closest relatives of the Nile crocodile are the Crocodylus species from the Americas, while the West African crocodile is basal to the clade of Nile and American crocodiles.[8][9][10]

Below is a

stratigraphic (fossil age) data,[9] as revised by the 2021 Hekkala et al. paleogenomics study using DNA extracted from the extinct Voay.[10]

Crocodylinae

Voay†

Crocodylus
Asia+Australia

Crocodylus johnstoni, freshwater crocodile

Crocodylus novaeguineae, New Guinea crocodile

Crocodylus mindorensis, Philippine crocodile

Crocodylus porosus, saltwater crocodile

Crocodylus siamensis, Siamese crocodile

Crocodylus palustris, mugger crocodile

Africa+New World

Crocodylus suchus, West African crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus, Nile crocodile

New World

Crocodylus moreletii, Morelet's crocodile

Crocodylus rhombifer, Cuban crocodile

Crocodylus intermedius, Orinoco crocodile

Crocodylus acutus, American crocodile

Characteristics

A West African crocodile in captivity

The muzzle is short and thick. The distance between the eyes and the tip of the muzzle is 1.5 to 2 times longer than the width of the muzzle at the level of the front edge of the eyes (1.2 to 1.5 times in case of juveniles). The coloration is generally brown to olive. Juveniles are paler, with black bandings, especially on the tail. Like all other species of crocodiles, the West African crocodile's eyes reflect light at night allowing it to be spotted easily through a flashlight. It is found to be active day and night. It can stay submerged underwater for more than 30 minutes, and can reach speeds of up to 30 km/h (19 mph) in short bursts. On land, it is often observed basking motionless in the sun, often with its mouth agape.[11]

Compared to the Nile crocodile, which can grow over 5 m (16 ft 5 in) in length, the West African crocodile is smaller. It typically grows between 2 and 3 m (6 ft 7 in and 9 ft 10 in) in length, with an occasional male growing over 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in rare cases.[12] Adults weigh between 90 and 250 kg (200 and 550 lb), with particularly large male specimens exceeding 300 kg (660 lb) in weight.[13][14]

Distribution and habitat

The West African crocodile inhabits much of

Republic of Congo.[6] As late as the 1920s, museums continued to obtain West African crocodile specimens from the White Nile, but today the species has disappeared from this river.[6]

In Mauritania the species has adapted to the arid desert environment of the

brackish waters. In comparison, the slender-snouted crocodile typically occupies rivers within forest interiors, while dwarf crocodiles are distributed in smaller rivers (mainly tributaries), streams and brooks also within forested areas.[18]

Relationship with humans

The West African crocodile is less aggressive than the Nile crocodile,[4] but several attacks on humans have been recorded, including fatal ones.[19] Mauritanian traditional peoples who live in close proximity to West African crocodiles revere them and protect them from harm. This is due to their belief that, just as water is essential to crocodiles, so crocodiles are essential to the water, which would permanently disappear if they were not there to inhabit it. Here the crocodiles live in apparent peace with the humans, and are not known to attack swimmers.[16]

In ancient Egypt

CT scan of a mummified crocodile mother with juveniles on her back

The people of

DNA testing found that all sampled mummified crocodiles from the grotto of Thebes, grotto of Samoun, and Upper Egypt belonged to this species[6] whereas the ones from a burial pit at Qubbet el-Hawa are believed on the basis of anatomy to consist of a mix of the two species.[21]

Sobek was depicted as a crocodile, as a

Crocodilopolis" by the Greeks. Another major temple to Sobek is in Kom Ombo
; other temples were scattered across the country.

Historically, C. suchus inhabited the Nile in

sarcophagi
, and then buried in a sacred tomb. Many mummified C. suchus specimens and even crocodile eggs have been found in Egyptian tombs.

Spells
were used to appease crocodiles in ancient Egypt, and even in modern times Nubian fishermen stuff and mount crocodiles over their doorsteps to ward against evil.

In captivity

A West African crocodile in the Copenhagen Zoo, thought to be a Nile crocodile until 2013–2014, when a DNA study confirmed its true identity[22]

The West African crocodile only received wider recognition as a valid species in 2011. Consequently, captives have typically been confused with other species, especially the Nile crocodile.

Kristiansand Zoo.[23] A study in 2015 that included 16 captive "Nile crocodiles" in 6 US zoos (almost a quarter of the "Nile crocodiles" in AZA zoos) found that all but one were actually West African crocodiles.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  2. ^ Crocodylus suchus, The Reptile Database
  3. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2003.07.002
    .
  4. ^
    doi:10.4103/0972-4923.197609
    .
  5. ^ Nile crocodile is two species, Nature.com
  6. ^
    PMID 21906195
    .
  7. ^ a b Cunningham, S.W. (2015), Spatial and genetic analyses of Africa's sacred crocodile: Crocodylus suchus, ETD Collection for Fordham University
  8. PMID 21459152
    .
  9. ^
    PMID 30051855
    .
  10. ^
    PMID 33907305
    .
  11. ISBN 978-2-7099-1726-1
    .
  12. ISBN 978-2-7099-1726-1
    .
  13. PMID 35158720
    .
  14. S2CID 247728849
    .
  15. ^
    S2CID 82155811
    .
  16. ^ a b Mayell, H. (18 June 2002). "Desert-Adapted Crocs Found in Africa". National Geographic.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  17. doi:10.1163/15685381-00003059
    .
  18. S2CID 85775155
    .
  19. ^ Sideleau, B.; Shirley, M. "West African crocodile". CrocBITE, Worldwide Crocodilian Attack Database. Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Australia. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  20. ^ "Sobek, God of Crocodiles, Power, Protection and Fertility..." Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2007.
  21. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  22. ^ Larsen, H. (5 January 2014), Københavnerkrokodiller har skiftet art, Politiken
  23. ^ Ziegler, T.; S. Hauswaldt & M. Vences (2015). "The necessity of genetic screening for proper management of captive crocodile populations based on the examples of Crocodylus suchus and C. mindorensis". Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research. 3 (4): 123–127.
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