#mecistops cataphractus

[markscherz]

Today I had the great privilege of getting to pick up this beautiful specimen of the critically endangered Mecistops cataphractus from Denmark’s famous Krokodillezoo. It passed away on the night of the 19th of June, 2024, after a prolonged fight to keep it alive. The necropsy revealed a pathology that constricted the passage from the stomach into the small intestine so much that food couldn’t pass through, which explains its inability to keep food down, and ultimately its death.

It is always so sad to lose an animal like this, but by entering the Natural History Museum of Denmark, this individual will be able to serve the scientific community for *centuries* and generations to come.

[arminreindl]

Today I finally got to cross another crocodilian off my list, specifically Mecistops cataphractus. This is because one, Leila, originally owned by a Swiss author, has moved in to replace the enormous false gharial Adam at the Haus des Meeres in Vienna.

I stopped by twice today and though during my first visit of the day she was just lazily resting in a corner of her pool, the second time around I got lucky enough to see her swimm around a bit. Despite a length of "only" 2.7 meters she's quite the impressive sight none the less.

I also managed to get a still image from just before I left when she settled in one of the shallower parts of her pool, nicely showing how dark her scales are. To my knowledge she is the fourth crocodilian species kept at the aquarium.

[herpsandbirds]

So we've seen some excellent albinism, what melanistic creatures look particularly magnificent?

Melanistic Animals...

Some of my favorite melanistic friends are crocodilians.

Have a look at this beauty...

West African Slender-snouted Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus), family Crocodylidae, found in West Africa

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.

photographs via: The Dragonwood Wildlife Conservancy

[games-gamesdesign]

Species

There are a total of 18 extant species have been recognized.

American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

Hall's New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus halli)

Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius)

Freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)

Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)

Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii)

Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae)

Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)

Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

Borneo crocodile (Crocodylus raninus)

Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer)

Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)

West African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus)

Osborn’s dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus osborni)

Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)

West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus)

Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus)

[animal-lover94]

West African Slender-snouted Crocodile

Mecistops cataphractus

🔔 This species of crocodile was first described in 1824 and was thought to be distributed across West Africa and into Central Africa but the Central African species has been separated as the Central African Slender-snouted Crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus) based on studies in 2014 and 2018 that indicated that both were distinct species based on DNA analysis.

[naturecopy]

🔥 Rare Melanistic West African Slender-snout Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus)

[draconesmundi]

So the african cryptids were removed, but do you have the art/entries for them saved somewhere? It’d be interesting to see, and might work as a sort of “sneak peak” without revealing any actual book content

Art and bio entry were done on paper, but I do have the mythology entry recycled into the makara/grootslang chapter (as this animal has a range covering South Asia, West Asia and Africa) and it looks a little like this:

Cryptozoology in the Congo Basin:

The Congo Basin in Central Africa contains one of the largest areas of undisturbed rainforest in the world. It is home to both pygmy civilisations and tribes from the Bantu language groups. Europeans will often use the Congo rainforest as an imagined home for all sorts of monsters; the pseudoscience of cryptozoology (the study of ‘hidden animals’) places many terrifying reptiles in this area.

Many of these imagined creatures, or ‘cryptids’ have features of both elephants and reptiles, and therefore may be inspired by the makara, who has been known to live in that part of Africa.

The most famous of these cryptids is mokele-mbembe – a cryptid loosely based on local words of the Bangala people. The cryptid was first reported by Carl Hagenbeck in 1909 as a mysterious ‘half elephant half dragon’. In 1913  Ludwig Freiherr von Stein was the first to report the name Mokele Mbembe, and added that it was brownish grey in colour, the size of an elephant, a long neck, a single long tooth or horn. The animal was known to attack boats but leave its victims dead and uneaten. Since 1913 there have been 12 more expeditions into the Likouala swamp region specifically in search of the Mokele-Mbembe, with results ranging from rare sightings to just broken twigs.

German adventurer Lt Paul Gratz in 1911 reported a crocodile-like creature with scale-less skin and clawed toes in Lake Bangweulu, and named it Nsanga.

Alfred Aloysious Smith’s 1927 memoir about exploring the Congo mentions the discovery of a giant pan-sized footprint with three claws – he named the owner of this footprint Amali. He also mentions the Jago-Nini or ‘giant diver’, who was known to emerge from the water to eat people.

While many of these monsters can silently sneak up on people, the Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu is known for its loud ‘mbielu’ call, and is named for it. Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu is a large reptile with ‘planks’ or wedge-shaped plates coming out of its back in the Likouala region of the Republic of Congo, reported by the people living in the villages of Bounila and Ebolo.

Another creature, the Nguma-monene was sighted near the Dongu-Mataba river, with a low slung belly, and triangular dorsal plates similar in appearance but smaller than those found on the Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu; another large and dangerous reptilian animal first sighted by a European but barely mentioned in local mythology, reported by Joseph Ellis in 1961 and in 1971.

The Emela-ntouka (or ‘killer of elephants’, also called Aseka-moke or Ngamba-namae) is a large brown animal possessing a single horn or tusk, lacking dorsal plates or ridges (a common feature in many Congo lake monsters) and has the overall appearance of a reptilian rhinoceros with elephant ears. One of the earliest descriptions of this animal was in 1954 by Lucien Blancou – a game inspector for Likouala game reserve. Two expeditions were made in 1980 and 1981 by Dr Roy P Mackal.

The Badigui or Ngakoula-ngou is described as giant snakelike animal, while the Chipekwe is a giant lizard that preys on hippos, elephants and rhinos. The Irizima, said to live in Lake Edward, is black, larger than a hippopotamus, horned, and breathes so heavily it can cause large waves in the water.

All these creatures are reptilian, some are serpentine, and many have the ears of an elephant, suggesting there is some connection with them and the makara. The only other large reptiles in the Congo Basin are the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), the West African slender snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus), the African rock python (Python sebae), none of which are so monstrously huge that they could tackle rhinos and elephants.

Some notes

As this was lifted from a list of notes I have on world mythology, the prose in itself is almost list-like. I know a few people who are better at sentence structure than I am, and will get notes from them in the next edit.

Also the ‘makara’ is a creature from Indian mythology. I have a dragon with elephantine features (which are always changing, so I’m not posting the biology bio yet until I have this down to a point!) and I am using the ‘elephant dragon’ chapter to talk about the Makara in Indian mythology, the Grootslang in South African and sometimes Benin mythology, a brief overview of cryptids in the Congo and some links to ‘Mesopotamian Chaos Serpents’ - these are huge aquatic serpents with vast ranges, and therefore dwell in a variety of locations. In my 2020 rewrite I might make the Indian, West Asian and African ‘elephant faced dragons’ into different species or subspecies, or I will keep them all as one very diverse species. Who knows?

Sharing My Work

Obviously I need to share more stuff, but for things with complete bios AND complete images, I need to go back to 2017, or I would need to show current works in progress - the former option shows outdated words and art, the latter option shows things which are in constant change.

When I complete a full 2020 rewrite of a chapter, should I put the 2018 version of the chapter somewhere on my blog for easy access? I was planning to have a gallery of 2017 artworks and maybe the 2018 artworks as well if I replace them all with new art, but would art+writing be appreciated?

[symbiotic-science]

“The African slender-snouted, or sharp-nosed, crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) is medium-sized, lives in freshwater habitats, and, as its name suggests, has a long and slender snout,” said team leader Dr. Matthew Shirleyof Florida International University’s Tropical Conservation Institute and colleagues.

“When we analyzed the DNA and physical characteristics of crocodiles in the wild and in captivity in six African countries, we found two distinct species of slender-snouted crocodiles: one unique to West Africa and one unique to Central Africa.”

Named the Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus), the newfound species is the first new living crocodile species to be described in nearly 85 years.

“At first glance, the West African and Central African slender-snouted crocodiles appear quite similar,” the scientists said.

“In addition to the differences in their DNA, we found differences in the skull shape and scales that strongly support the existence of two species.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed slender-snouted crocodiles as ‘Critically Endangered’ in 2014.

[daphnejamet]

anthropocène, serie of embroidered installations (wip) Mecistops cataphractus (slender-snouted crocodile), critically endangered. The slender-snouted crocodile is a narrow-snouted, medium-sized species reaching a maximum length of 4m, though individuals over 3m are now rare. Population decline in the past has been attributed to the commercial skin hunting, subsistence hunting and habitat destruction. Currently, hunting for skins in central and west Africa has abated, largely as the result of declines in crocodile populations and to a lesser extent from restrictions on international trade established by CITES. Mecistops cataphractus populations are threatened by fisheries (resulting in a reduced prey base and incidental mortality in fishing nets), habitat loss (large tracts of forest are cleared for cacao and rubber plantations or settlements) as well as ongoing limited hunting for the bushmeat markets. A recently renewed initiative in Côte d'Ivoire is looking at captive breeding and reintroduction. source : www.iucnredlist.org #embroidery #broderie #slendersnoutedcrocodile #endangeredspecies #hunting #habitatloss #deforestation #fishing #bycatch #crocodile #especesmenacees #peche #chasse #anthropocene #anthropoceneDMJ #wip

[bzzzmiele]

•origen: África •Nombre científico: Mecistops cataphractus •Estado de conservación: En peligro crítico (Reducción) •El cocodrilo hociquifino africano (Mecistops cataphractus) es una especie de saurópsido crocodilio catalogada como tal por Cuvier en 1875. Es una de las cuatro especies de cocodrilos que habitan en África —junto con el cocodrilo del Nilo, el cocodrilo del desierto y el cocodrilo enano—. •Este cocodrilo habita zonas occidentales del África Central, mayoritariamente Congo y Costa de Marfil, en ocasiones cerca de las desembocaduras, llegando incluso a encontrarse ejemplares en la isla de Bioko lo que demuestra cierta tolerancia a la salinidad. Habita preferentemente en zonas de vegetación densa, llevando una vida acuática. En su edad adulta puede alcanzar los 4 metros de longitud, aunque normalmente su media se sitúa en torno a 2,5 metros. • Precisamente es denominado hociquifino por tener un hocico algo más estrecho que el de parientes cercanos, siendo al menos 5 veces más largo que ancho en su edad adulta. El color de su piel es oliva oscura en su parte superior y clara y con manchas en su parte inferior. En los ejemplares jóvenes presenta matices más claros. #cocodrilohociquifinoafricano #cocodrilohociquifino #cocodriloafricano #cocodrilo #cocodrilos #alligator #alligatorgar #alligators #animales #animal #animals #naturaleza #natural #nature #naturephotography https://www.instagram.com/p/CDOhILYDpDj/?igshid=1cq9c9lv1y660

[markscherz]

Just a picture from the office today.

[faunafocus]

April 2020 Slender-Snouted Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) Join a creative community focusing on a unique animal each month. Create art inspired by the featured animal and share it with #FaunaFocus. Check FaunaFocus.com for FaunaFacts the Free-For-All art competition & live critique, featured artists, special events, and more! Images 1.-3. ©️ Jeremy Thompson, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY 2.0) 4. ©️ Martin Pettitt, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY 2.0) 5. ©️ Mark Seton, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC 2.0) 6. ©️ Animal Diversity Web, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-SA 2.0) 7. ©️ John Wright, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) 8. ©️ Josh More, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) 9. ©️ Tim Strater, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-SA 2.0) 10. ©️ Matthew Baldwin, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) #artchallenge #artprompt #animals #wildlife #slendersnoutedcrocodile #slendersnoutedcrocodiles #crocodile #crocodiles #reptile #reptiles https://www.instagram.com/p/B-h3PB0jFbq/?igshid=l2zrjm0sh3ip

[bizwhiznetwork]

Cryptic New Species of Crocodile Identified in Africa

https://bizwhiznetwork.com/cryptic-new-species-of-crocodile-identified-in-africa/

An international team of researchers has identified a cryptic new species of slender-snouted crocodile living in Central Africa. The Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus). Image credit: Shirley et al, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4504.2.1. “The African slender-snouted, or sharp-nosed, crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) is medium-sized, lives in freshwater habitats, and, as its name suggests, has a long and …

The post Cryptic New Species of Crocodile Identified in Africa appeared first on #Bizwhiznetwork.com | Business Opportunities & Products Unfolded.

[afrikanza]

11 Interesting Facts About Mali

Facts About Mali’s Culture, Geography, and History

Mali is a West African country, home to some of the most ancient African civilizations. Its unique geography, culture, and history make it an interesting country to explore. Just as its vastness and long history, there is much to know. Nonetheless, we have compiled 11 interesting facts that will help you have a better perspective of Mali.

11. Mali is the biggest country in West Africa. It is about twice the size of Texas, the second largest American state.

The size of Mali is 480,000 square miles. The capital city of Mali is Bamako. It is a landlocked country, most of it semi-arid. It is surrounded by seven other countries including Mauritania and Senegal to the West, Algeria to the north, Niger to the east, and Guinea, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso to the south.

Mali’s main economic activity is agriculture and fishing. It is Africa’s third largest producer of gold. Though Mali is rich in natural resources, unlike Texas, it is still a poor country. About half of Malians live below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day.

10. In the past, Mali was one of the richest countries, home to great emperors.

Mali was a great center of civilization, with the University of Timbuktu being one of the most famous ancient universities in Africa and the Middle East. It was a rich gold land. Gold earned its source of wealth.

Mansa Musa was the equivalent of King Solomon but in the middle ages. He was the richest man, probably in the whole world then.

Another Must Read: http://afrikanza.com/most-populous-african-countries/

9. The spectacular Grand Mosque of Djenne in Mali is the biggest man-made clay structure in the world.

Djenne is an ancient town, which was one of the three major cities of the ancient Mali Empire. The other two cities were Timbuktu and Gao. Djenne was a transit point for slaves captured in the interior and sold at slave markets in Gao and Timbuktu. Djenne Djeno is one of the oldest towns in Africa. It is famous for its Adobe architecture. It is a designed World Heritage site by UNESCO (1988).

The first mosque in Djenne was built between 1200AD and 1330AD. Seku Amadu’s Mosque built between 1834 and 1836 followed it. Later on, Grand Mosque of Djenne was built in 1907 under the French authority. This replaced the first mosque, which had been left in ruins. This later mosque was built using sun-baked clay bricks and clay mortar.

8. Rock paintings found in the region of Gao and Timbuktu suggest that the region of Mali was inhabited even around 50,000 BC.

Gao was an important center during the Trans-Atlantic trade. It was the capital city of the Songhai Empire and the headquarters of the Islamic dynasty. Gao is established on the eastern bank of River Niger, 300 kilometers to the south-west of Timbuktu.

Timbuktu is 20 km north of River Niger. It is famed for its ancient Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university that was established between 15th and 16th century AD. It was a center for Islamic scholars with a thriving book trade.

Some of the famous rock painting sites in Mali includes Siguifiri shelters, Kita Kourou cave paintings, Andrar des Ifogha, Mogoyabougou and Mingaré rock shelters, and Airé Soroba.

  You May Also Like: http://afrikanza.com/biggest-sports-stadiums-in-africa/ ‎

7. The prime meridian marker is located in Gao, Mali, where one can literally stand on the edge of two hemispheres.

The Equator line, separating the Northern and Southern hemispheres, crosses through Gao. This is one of the hottest equator spots in the world. At the equator spot, you can actually have one foot in the northern hemisphere with another one in the southern hemisphere.

6. Salt was such a valuable commodity that people would trade a pound of gold for a pound of salt. Mali is famous for its salt mines.

Taoudenni was the most ancient salt mining center in Mali. It was located about 413 miles north of Timbuktu. Traders from Taoudenni would bring salt to the south in exchange for gold. Another salt mining center was Taghaza, which was about 150km north-west of Taoudenni.

Surprisingly, salt was more valuable than gold in those days.

5. Amphibians known exclusively from Mali include the Mali Screeching Frog and the Bata Marsh Toad.

Fishing is one of the main economic activities carried out in River Niger. There are about 200 fish species in Mali. Capitaine is the most popular of the fish species. There are plenty of other amphibians in Mali. The most notable amphibians are Bata marsh toad (Bufo chudeaui) and Mali screeching frog (Tomopterna milletihorsini). African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) is another notable creature.

Being a desert, there are plenty of reptiles. Snakes and tortoises are plenty. There are also unique bird species, both for the wetlands (Niger River) and the desert lands. Termites are the most common insects.

What to Read Next: http://afrikanza.com/best-african-cities/

4. The elephant fish Mormyrops oudoti is a freshwater fish only known to Mali.

The Bozo people (‘people of the bamboo huts’) are famous for fishing Mormyrops Oudoti. They inhabit the shores of River Niger in Mali. They are commonly referred to as the ‘peaceful masters of the river’ due to their mastery of fishing and gentle character.

Mormyrops Oudoti is mainly concentrated near Bamako, Mali. It is called Elephant fish due to its elongated tubular snout that looks like an elephant’s proboscis. It is a great delicacy that you would enjoy being served while on a visit to Bamako.

3. When Mansa Musa, emperor of the Malian Empire in the early 1300s, made his Mecca pilgrimage, he made Mali famous by bringing with him 12,000 slaves, 60,000 men, 80 camels that each carried between 50 and 30 pounds of gold, and building a mosque every Friday during his journey.

Mansa Musa was known throughout the Muslim world due to his vast wealth, extravagance, and generosity. He was much more like King Solomon except for his extravagance and fewer concubines.

Like the end of other powerful rulers, the death of Mansa Musa marked the decline of Malian Empire. The persistent feuds between his sons weakened the empire. This allowed the Berbers from Morocco to easily conquer it and grab its vast lands.

2. The three great empires to have risen in Mali are the Empire of Ghana, the Empire of Mali and the Songhaï Empire.

Mali Empire was the richest, largest and most powerful of the three empires. It occupied territory that was twice the size of France. It cut through Mauritania up to the Atlantic Ocean.

Berbers initially founded the empire of Ghana. However, it eventually fell under the control of the native Soninke people who established Kumbi Saleh as their capital city. However, the empire of Ghana came under attack from the Berbers in 1062 CE and its capital city captured in 1076 thus ending the reign of the Soninke (the Ghanaians).

1. Sundiata, the Lion King (also called the Lion Prince), was the founder of the Mali Empire and ruled it for 25 years, from about 1235 to 1260.

Cultivation and wearing of cotton clothes were two main civilizing enterprises brought about by King Sundiata. He also took over control of gold and salt trade.

Mansa Musa was the grandson of Sundiata’s half-brother.

The post 11 Interesting Facts About Mali appeared first on Afrikanza.

[animal-lover94]

Central African Slender-snouted Crocodile

Mecistops leptorhynchus

🔔 It was considered to be of the same species as the West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus). Their genetics diverged more than 8 million years ago. As both populations continued to evolve, the genetic drift caused a difference of more than 5% in important genes. Base on the analysis of DNA it was established as a separate species in 2018.

[artscult]

temsacus intermedius, mecistops cataphractus - high resolution image from old book.