Researchers named the extinct animal Herugavialis cairensis. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, suggests the crocodilian lived in a shallow tropical sea that once covered parts of what is now northern Egypt, Anadolu Agency reported.
The fossils were recovered from the Mokattam Formation, a thick limestone deposit known for preserving remains of ancient marine life, including fish, sharks and early whales.
***
Stone from the formation was later quarried and used in several of ancient Egypt’s most famous monuments, including the Great Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza.
The key fossil examined by researchers was a nearly complete skull discovered in the 1920s. It had previously been classified as belonging to Tomistoma, the genus that includes the modern false gharial of Southeast Asia.
Using computed tomography, or CT, scans, scientists examined the skull’s internal structure and compared more than 300 anatomical features with those of living and extinct crocodilians.
The analysis revealed enough differences to establish that the Egyptian fossil represented a separate genus.
The name Herugavialis combines “Heru,” another name for the ancient Egyptian god Horus, with a term associated with gharials. The species name cairensis refers to its connection with Cairo.
The fossil also contains an unusual coincidence with the Great Sphinx. The skull is missing the tip of its snout, while the famous monument is known for its missing nose.
“Given this coincidence with the famously missing nose of the Great Sphinx, we decided to name the new crocodile after the Egyptian god Heru, who was possibly the inspiration for this iconic monument,” said study co-leader Philip Mannion of University College London.
Gharials are a group of crocodilians characterized by their long, narrow snouts. Only two species survive today: the critically endangered Indian gharial and the endangered false gharial, both native to parts of South and Southeast Asia.
Their fossil record indicates that gharial-like crocodilians once occupied a much broader geographic range and that some species were adapted to marine environments.
The discovery of Herugavialis cairensis adds to evidence that several gharial species lived around the Mediterranean region over millions of years.
Researchers said the finding offers new insight into the evolutionary history of gharial-like crocodilians and highlights the diversity of ancient species that once inhabited the region that is now Egypt.
