Osteolaeminae (from Ancient Greek ÃÂÃÂÃÂõÿý (ósteon), meaning "bone", and ûñùüÃÂà(laimós), meaning "throat") is a subfamily of true crocodiles within the family Crocodylidae containing the dwarf crocodiles and slender-snouted crocodiles, and is the sister taxon to Crocodylinae.
Osteolaeminae was named by Christopher Brochu in 2003 as a subfamily of Crocodylidae separate from Crocodylinae, and is cladistically defined as Osteolaemus tetraspis (the Dwarf crocodile) and all crocodylians more closely related to it than to Crocodylus niloticus (the Nile crocodile). This is a stem-based definition, and is the sister taxon to Crocodylinae. Osteolaeminae contains the two extant genera Osteolaemus and Mecistops, along with several extinct genera, although the number of extant species within Osteolaeminae is currently in question.
The cladogram below is based on two studies that combined morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data. Recently recognised species (M. leptorhynchus, C. halli and the third Osteolaemus species) placed according to 2023 study by Sales-Oliveira et al.
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.