Mecistops leptorhynchus

(Bennett, 1835) · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Animalia/Chordata/Crocodylia/Crocodylidae/Mecistops

At a glance

Occurrence records113

Data sources7

Biological traits0

DNA specimens2

eDNA detections2

Sources7 archives

Databases and archives Mecistops leptorhynchus's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation8 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility113 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics2 specimens↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗

On this page4 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Occurrence & distributionGBIF113 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 0 countries2 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD2 specimens

01Narrative

The Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus) is one of two species of crocodiles in the genus Mecistops. It was once thought to be a population of the West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) but was elevated to a species after two detailed studies, one in 2014 and the other in 2018. The species was described in 1835 on the basis of a specimen that had died at the London Zoo and had been claimed to have been collected in the Fernando Po. Studies of specimens and their molecular sequences established that there were two different species which occurred in distinct hydrological zones. M. leptorhynchus is easily differentiated morphologically from M. cataphractus by the absence of a round tubercle or boss on the squamosal scale at the back of the head in the former and present in the latter.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

No structured trait data for this taxon yet.

05DNA & barcoding2 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Mecistops leptorhynchus has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens2

Marker genes1

eDNA detections2

Countries2

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★COI-5P

animal barcode

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type113 records

Wild obs. + sensor110

Museum / vouchered3

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO280 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy47% within 1 km

≤100 m 15≤1 km 29≤10 km 26>10 km 24

94 georeferenced · 16 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor110

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km

≤100 m 1≤1 km 1

2 georeferenced · 1 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence3

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Institution	Specimens
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record	1
Florida Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record	1
MUHNAClocation not on record	1

3 institutions · 3 of 3 vouchered records shown

09Environmental DNA2 detections

Where the DNA of Mecistops leptorhynchus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found2

Studies independent surveys1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 2 detections have coordinates

Open the map0 countries0

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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