[6][7] This makes it the smallest living crocodile species, although the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus), a member of the family Alligatoridae, is smaller at up to about 1.7 m (5.6 ft).

[10] Some individuals living in the caves of Abanda, Gabon, displayed orange patches, apparently due to alkaline bat guano that erodes the skin of the crocodile.

Such a distribution greatly overlaps with that of the slender-snouted crocodile, encompassing countries as far west as Senegal, reaching Uganda in the east, and ranging as southerly as Angola.

[2][9] The last confirmed record from Uganda was in the 1940s, but whether the species, which is easily overlooked, still survives there is unclear (it was always marginal in this country, only occurring in the far southwest).

[9] Foraging is mainly done in or near the water, although it is considered to be one of the most terrestrial species of crocodilian and may expand the feeding pattern to land in extensive forays, especially after rains.

[14] Dwarf crocodiles are generalist predators and have been recorded feeding on a wide range of small animals such as fish, crabs, frogs, gastropods, insects, lizards, water birds, bats and shrews.

[12]True to its solitary, nocturnal nature, a dwarf crocodile digs out a burrow in which to hide and rest during the day, which can sometimes have a submerged entrance.

The nest, situated near the water, is a mound of wet, decaying vegetation that incubates the eggs due to the heat generated by the decomposition of the plant material.

A 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data established the inter-relationships within Crocodylidae.

[24] In 2021, Hekkala et al. were able to use paleogenomics, extracting DNA from the extinct Voay, to better establish the relationships within Crocodylidae, including the subfamilies Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae.

[9] It is a little-known species, so unlike their more studied relatives, conservationists are often not as aware of how their populations are faring under the growing human pressure over the ecosystems where they abide.

[12] Though some skins are used in local manufacturing of leather products, they are of poor quality, so little interest is shown in captive breeding or a sustainable use program.

Based on a study of individuals kept in AZA zoos, captives in North America are primarily O. tetrapis and the possibly unnamed West African species, but there are also some hybrids.