Alligators and crocodiles are easily confused and exhibit several major physical differences. Alligators have broader heads and blunter snouts. Their lower teeth fit inside the edge of the upper jaw and cannot be seen when the lipless mouth is closed. The crocodile's fourth tooth in each side of the lower jaw is located lying in a notch in the upper jaw and is always visible. The teeth are used for seizing and holding prey instead of for chewing. They are replaced continuously as new ones grow up, forcing old ones out. 

Like all crocodiles, the dwarf has rigid teeth and tough scales, which cover  the body.  During early years of existence, the dwarf crocodile is yellow with a brown tint.  The infant dwarf crocodile also has black spots on its belly and back.  However, with age, the dwarf crocodile grows to resemble other forms of crocodiles in color.  By maturity, the dwarf crocodile is dark brown or black.  The scales become harder and the bony palates that protect the back are more dense.

General information:

The term crocodilian is applied to any of the order Crocodilia alligators, caimans, and gavials, as well as true crocodiles. There are about 20 species of living crocodilians, all of which are lizardlike, egg-laying carnivores. The Dwarf Crocodile, known as the Broadfronted crocodile, or scientifically  Osteolaemus tetraspis comes from Africa. 

There are two subspecies of the Dwarf crocodile.  The West African Dwarf  crocodile or Osteolaemus tetraspis inhabits the forest areas of  Liberia, Calabar, Cameroon, Sierra Lenone and Gaboon.  Paul du Chaillu  discovered this subspecies.  The snout of this subspecies appears swollen.  The Osteolaemus tetraspis osborni hails from the upper Congo region and can be  found mainly in the Ituri Forest.  This subspecies lacks the swollen appearance of the Broadface.

Crocodiles and alligators are most at home in the water but are able to travel on land by sliding on their bellies, stepping along with their legs extended, or galloping awkwardly. Large adults can stay underwater for over an hour without breathing. They swim primarily by snakelike movements of their bodies and by powerful strokes of their muscular, oarlike tails, which are also effective weapons. 

A crocodile can also open its mouth when in the water due to a special valve in its throat. It allows the jaws to open without allowing water to move down the throat. When crocodiles float in the water, they leave only their nostrils, eyes, and ears above the surface. Their eyes can be covered with semitransparent membranes, much like a third eyelid and the ears and nostrils can be closed over by folds of skin. 

Young crocodiles eat worms and insects. As they mature, they add frogs, tadpoles, and fishes to their diets. Older crocodilians nocturnal and  solitary and they feed on other vertebrate animals as well as fish. The dwarf crocodile kills its prey and devours it immediately. Usually with crocodilians animals that are too large to be swallowed whole are either torn to pieces or are drowned and permitted to decay in burrows. 

The dwarf crocodile forms a land home by burrowing with its paws.  The dwelling has only two passageways; one for entering and one for exiting.  These burrows, which are dug at or just above the waterline, can extend for many feet and eventually end in a den, or chamber. The alligators hibernate in these burrows during cold weather. The dwarf crocodile female usually lays a clutch of less than 20 eggs. The eggs are placed in a mound of vegetation the female will assemble. The female will guard the nest and raise the young.

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Wild,Wild World of Animals: Reptiles & Amphibians. Time Life Television Series. 1976.

Strawn, Martha A. Alligators: Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape. Baltimore. John Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Guggisberg, C.A.W. Crocodiles. Harrisburg. Stackpole Books, 1972.