Abstract:
Intestinal contents were collected from wild-caught African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
in 1993 and 1995 which were slaughtered at urban markets in the Congo Republic. The samples were
kept frozen and brought back to Onderstepoort for aerobic culture. Out of 29 specimens, 33 species
of bacteria and 20 species of fungi were isolated. The bacteria included three isolates of Salmonella
and eight isolates of Escherichia coli, most of the latter being rough strains. The flora of individual
specimens contained 1-5 bacterial and 0-5 fungal species. Neither Aeromonas hydrophila nor
Edwardsiella tarda were isolated from any of the samples.
