New crocodile species found fossilized in stone used to build Egypt’s Great Sphinx

Researchers identified a new extinct crocodilian species, Herugavialis cairensis, from fossils pulled out of Egypt's Mokattam Formation in the 1920s and originally misclassified as a relative of the living false gharial. Modern CT scanning revealed distinct skull features, and the animal was named partly because its fossil, like the Great Sphinx carved from the same limestone formation, is missing the tip of its nose.

The find adds to a broader story of crocodilian conservation: once nearly all crocodilian species were considered endangered, but more than half are now listed as least concern thanks to targeted conservation programs. The two living gavial species, however, remain endangered and critically endangered respectively, reminders that the long-snouted lineage that once swam ancient seas worldwide has shrunk to a precarious remnant.

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