The fossil of a crocodile skull discovered nearly a century ago in Egypt has been identified as belonging to a newly recognized genus, changing scientists’ understanding of crocodile evolution in the ancient Mediterranean. Researchers concluded this after re-examining the roughly 45-million-year-old fossil with CT scans and modern evolutionary analysis. The skull was found in Cairo’s Mokattam Formation and first described in 1927.
Scientists originally classified the animal as Tomistoma cairense. That placed it in the same genus as the living false gharial, a long-snouted crocodilian found today in Southeast Asia.
CT scans overturn a century-old classification
The new analysis revealed important differences in the fossil’s anatomy and evolutionary relationships. Researchers found several distinctive features, including raised and projecting eye sockets. The evidence led the team to establish a new genus for the species. They named it Herugavialis cairensis, overturning a classification that had stood for almost a century.
The finding follows other research into prehistoric crocodiles from Egypt, including the identification of an 80-million-year-old species from the country’s Western Desert. Paul Burke of the Swedish Museum of Natural History led the research, with Philip Mannion of University College London as co-lead. The international team included researchers from Egypt, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany. The findings were published in Royal Society Open Science.
Ancient crocodile has an unusual link to the Great Sphinx
The fossil also carries an unexpected connection to one of Egypt’s most famous monuments. It came from the Mokattam Formation, the same limestone formation from which the Great Sphinx of Giza was carved. The fossil skull is missing the tip of its snout, while the Sphinx famously lacks its nose.
🔴 Scientists reclassify 45-million-year-old Egyptian crocodile fossil
Researchers from Egypt, the UK, Sweden and Germany identified a new crocodile genus from a skull recovered nearly a century ago from Egypt's Mokattam Formation—the same limestone layer from which the Great… pic.twitter.com/jVvy0YFHsS
— NewsTongue (@NewsTongueX) October 7, 2026
Mannion said the resemblance helped inspire the new genus name. Herugavialis honors Heru, the ancient Egyptian name for the god Horus, who is associated with the Great Sphinx. The species name cairensis refers to Cairo.
Crocodiles once thrived around ancient Mediterranean seas
About 45 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch, shallow seas covered much of the region. Herugavialis lived alongside at least two other species of long-snouted crocodilians. The animal belonged to the broader gavial group. Its only surviving representatives are the Indian gharial and false gharial. Their ancient relatives were once much more diverse and widespread, with scientists recognizing more than 40 species from the fossil record.
Other fossil discoveries have also helped researchers reconstruct the ancient relatives of modern crocodilians and understand how these reptiles changed over millions of years. Researchers suggest that changes in climate and sea levels shaped the evolution of the group. Cooling temperatures and falling sea levels may have reduced suitable habitats around the Mediterranean. Later warming could have allowed their diversity to increase again.
More fossils could help scientists determine how these crocodilians spread through the ancient Mediterranean and why they eventually disappeared from the region.
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