As I'm sure some of you are aware, scientists have recently divided the slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) into two species: the West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) and the Central African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhynchus). My question is: Which species is on display in the U.S.? Zoos that have slender-snouted crocodiles list their specimens as "Mecistops cataphractus" on their websites, but that's because the web-pages were made before the new study. Does anyone on here know the answer?
There are conflicting suggestions from different papers on this. The more widely-accepted stance is that they are all west African.
This was my understanding as well. It would make sense as historically, more zoo animals have come to the United States from West Africa than from Central Africa. Additionally, I think the SSP has a relationship with Abidjan Zoo who also breed them and release them into the wild; the specimens at that zoo would be M. cataphractus under current taxonomy. It's unlikely that pedigree information would be enough to resolve the question; I think a full genomic analysis would have to be done on the population to know for sure.
Thanks you @jayjds2 and @Coelacanth18 for the replies. Also, @Birdlover here you go: Systematic revision of the living African Slender-snouted Crocodiles ( Mecistops Gray, 1844) | SHIRLEY | Zootaxa (it appears you must pay for the full article but you can at least read the abstract for free.
