Fossils from Sphinx limestone identified as new crocodile

Paleontologists have identified Herugavialis cairensis as a new genus and species of extinct gavial crocodile, reclassifying fossils collected in Egypt nearly a century ago. The researchers say the animal lived about 45 million years ago, when much of what is now northern Egypt was covered by shallow sea. The fossils came from the Mokattam Formation, limestone also used in building the Great Sphinx of Giza. The material, collected in the 1920s, had previously been classified as Tomistoma, a genus that today includes the false gharial. Researchers used computed tomography scans and comparative anatomical analysis to examine the specimens, including a nearly complete skull. The study authors say differences in the fossils’ anatomy show they belong to a distinct genus, Herugavialis, rather than Tomistoma. The skull is missing the tip of its snout, a feature that echoes the Great Sphinx’s missing nose. Researchers named the genus after Heru, an Egyptian god associated with the monument, while cairensis refers to Cairo. The fossil was not found inside the Sphinx; it was recovered from rock in the same geological formation as the limestone used to build the monument.