{"id":246929,"date":"2025-10-28T18:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/246929\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T18:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:52:13","slug":"formidable-crocodile-like-predator-discovered-in-egyptian-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/246929\/","title":{"rendered":"Formidable crocodile-like predator discovered in Egyptian desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of ancient marine crocodile from\u00a0Egypt\u2019s Western Desert.<\/p>\n

Based on the remains of four animals dug up in the arid plains of the Kharga Oasis, it is thought the species lived around 80 million years ago and is the earliest known member of dyrosauridae \u2013 a group of ancient crocodiles<\/a> that thrived in coastal and marine environments.<\/p>\n

Named Wadisuchus kassabi, the animal was 3.5\u20134 metres long with an elongated snout and large, sharp teeth, which it used to catch prey such as fish and turtles. Researchers say the discovery, published in The Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society<\/a>, is vital for understanding how reptiles adapted and diversified after the extinction of the dinosaurs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"WadisuchusReconstruction of Wadisuchus kassabi from the Late Cretaceous of Egypt, showing an adult capturing a lungfish in a wetland. Credit: Nathan Dehaut \u2013 Artwork \/ MUVP \u2013 Scientific supervision
\n\"LeadLead author Sara Saber pictured with the holotype specimen of Wadisuchus kassabi. Credit: Hesham Sallam \u2013 Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fossils of\u00a0Wadisuchus\u00a0kassabi\u00a0were excavated near Kharga and Baris oases in Egypt\u2019s Western Desert,\u201d says the senior author of the study Hesham Sallam from the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center<\/a> (MUVP)\u00a0.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey include two partial skulls and two snout tips representing four individuals at different stages of growth, providing rare insight into how dyrosaurids developed,\u201d adds Sallam, who says high-resolution CT scans and 3D surface models allowed the researchers to examine the anatomy of the animals in unprecedented detail.<\/p>\n

About the size of today\u2019s Nile crocodile<\/a>, the newly identified species differs from other dyrosaurids as it has \u201cfour teeth at the front of the snout instead of the primitive five, nostrils positioned on top of the snout for surface breathing, and a deep notch at the tip of the snout where the jaws met,\u201d says the lead author of the study Sara Saber from MUVP.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese features show a gradual adaptation in the dyrosaurid bite, marking an important step in their evolutionary history,\u201d adds Saber.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new species pushes back evidence for an African origin of dyrosauridae and suggests that their diversification began earlier than previously thought \u2013 possibly during the Early Coniacian\u2013Santonian (about 87\u201383 million years ago), rather than the traditionally assumed Maastrichtian (about 72\u201366 million years ago).\u201d<\/p>\n

3D digital model of the Wadisuchus composite skull. Credit: produced by Belal Salem and Joseph Georanke, with data courtesy of Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP)<\/p>\n

The new species\u2019 name \u2013\u00a0Wadisuchus kassabi\u00a0\u2013 comes from the word Wadi (\u201c\u0648\u0627\u062f\u064a,\u201d Arabic for \u2018valley\u2019), which is a nod to the New Valley, where it was discovered; and Suchus for the ancient crocodile god Sobek. The name also pays homage to Professor Ahmed Kassab for his contributions to Egyptian palaeontology.<\/p>\n

Belal Salem, curator of fossil reptiles and birds at MUVP, says \u201cthe significance of\u00a0Wadisuchus\u00a0lies not only in what it reveals about the evolutionary history of this remarkable group of crocodiles \u2013 though that is a major achievement \u2013 but also in what it reminds us of: Egypt\u2019s Western Desert still holds treasures that preserve the secrets of our planet\u2019s deep past. Our mission is not only to uncover these fossils but also to protect the fossil-rich sites from urban expansion and agricultural encroachment. They are a legacy for generations of Egyptians to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image: Western Desert in Egypt. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of ancient marine crocodile from\u00a0Egypt\u2019s Western Desert. Based on the remains of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-246929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}