Osteolaemus osborni

Osteolaemus osborni, commonly known as Osborn's dwarf crocodile, is a species of crocodile endemic to the Congo Basin in Africa.

Osteolaemus osborni
Conservation status
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Order:	Crocodilia
Family:	Crocodylidae
Genus:	Osteolaemus
Species:	O. osborni
Binomial name
Osteolaemus osborni Schmidt, 1919
Synonyms
Osteolaemus tetraspis osborni

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 Congo dwarf crocodile (O. osborni) is both the smallest crocodile and the smallest crocodilian since it does not surpass 1.2 m (3.9 ft).^[4]

The specific name, osborni, is in honor of American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn.^[5]