West African slender-snouted crocodile

As with its relative, the West African slender-snouted crocodile has a very long, slender snout that it uses to catch fish and small aquatic invertebrates. As with all crocodilians, larger animals may feed opportunistically on larger prey if it becomes available. They are relatively medium-sized, but large males can exceed several other species of crocodilians in size. Three individuals measuring 2.31 to 2.62 m (7 ft 7 in – 8 ft 7 in) and weighing 50–95 kg (110–209 lb) had a bite force in the range of 1,704–2,447 N (383–550 lbf). Adult males typically reach 3 to 4 m (9 ft 10 in – 13 ft 1 in) in length. Large males can reportedly grow up to 4.5 m (15 ft) in length. They generally weigh between 125 and 325 kg (276 and 717 lb). The body mass of the largest males have been estimated to reach up to 667 kg (1,470 lb).

West African slender-snouted crocodile occurs widely in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, southern Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, southern Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo) and extends into Cameroon in Central Africa. They prefer to live in dense, vegetated bodies of water that are away from human settlements. Their distribution is currently being monitored by drone surveillance and prerecorded calls to attract them.

== References ==

The genus name Mecistops is most probably derived from the Ancient Greek words μήκιστ (mēkist), meaning "longest", and ὄψ (óps) meaning "face". The specific epithet cataphractus is thought to be derived from the Greek word κατάφρακτος (katáphraktos) meaning "armoured" or "shielded".