Mecistops
Mecistops is a genus of crocodiles, the slender-snouted crocodiles, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy and etymology Traditionally placed in Crocodylus, recent studies in DNA and morphology have shown that it is in fact basal to Crocodylus, thus was moved its own genus. This genus itself was long considered to contain only one species, M. cataphractus, but recent genetic analysis has revealed the existence of two species: the West African slender-snouted crocodile (M. cataphractus) and the Central African slender-snouted crocodile (M. leptorhynchus). Both species diverged during the Miocene (about 6.5–7.5 million years ago) and are separated by the Cameroon Volcanic Line. Phylogeny The cladogram below is based on two studies that combined morphological and molecular (DNA sequencing) data. (Note that most morphological analyses find a closer relationship between Euthecodon and Brochuchus.) Alternatively, other morphological studies have recovered Mecistops as a basal member of Crocodylinae, more closely related to Crocodylus than to Osteolaemus and the other members of Osteolaeminae, as shown in the cladogram below. Extant Species Etymology The genus name Mecistops is most probably derived from the Ancient Greek words μήκιστ (mēkist) meaning "longest" and ὄψις (ópsis) meaning "aspect" or "appearance" or ὄψ (óps) meaning 'face'. Description Slender-snouted crocodiles are native