The fossil skull was re-examined using CT scans and came from the Mokattam Formation, the same limestone formation from which the Great Sphinx was carved. Scientists said they have identified an extinct crocodile species from about 45 million years ago in the limestone formation used to sculpt the Great Sphinx of Giza, according to a report by CNN [1].
The researchers described the animal as a long-snouted, fish-eating crocodilian that lived in a shallow sea that once covered parts of what is now Egypt [2]. A skull from the now extinct Herugavialis cairensis was discovered in the 1920s and is also missing part of its nose [3].
Reclassification From 1927 to Present
The specimen was first described in 1927 as Tomistoma cairense, placing it in the same genus as the living false gharial, which has a long, narrow snout. The earlier classification had stood for almost a century.
The new examination revealed differences in the skull's structure and the animal's evolutionary relationships, including raised, projecting eye sockets. Those differences prompted the researchers to place the species in a separate genus. [4].
The revision adds to a long record of reclassifications in paleontology, in which new examination methods and additional comparative material prompt scientists to redraw relationships between extinct animals. According to a report by Vice, the museum fossil revealed a new crocodile genus with a strange Sphinx connection: the same rock formation and a missing snout tip [5].
Sphinx Connection and Naming
Like the Great Sphinx, the skull is missing the tip of its snout. The Mokattam formation where it was found contains scores of ancient fossils and was also used to build the Great Sphinx [6]. Scientists said the extinct crocodile species lived millions of years before the Egyptians built the Great Sphinx [7].
Mannion said in a statement that the resemblance between the fossil's missing snout tip and the Sphinx's absent nose helped inspire the name Herugavialis, which honors the Egyptian god Heru. Heru, also known as Horus, has been associated with the Great Sphinx, according to a report by Science News [8]. Heru is thought to have been the inspiration for the Sphinx, according to a report by The Washington Post [9].
The second part of the name, cairensis, references Cairo. Researchers said the naming recognizes both the deity and the city tied to the discovery.
Evolutionary and Environmental Context
About 45 million years ago, much of the region lay beneath shallow seas, and Herugavialis cairensis lived alongside at least two other species of long-snouted crocodiles. [10]. The animal belonged to a group whose only surviving members are the Indian gharial and false gharial; fossils show that their relatives once had a far wider distribution, with more than 40 species recognized.
Gharials are known for their long, narrow snouts, according to reference material on crocodilians; adult male gharials have a conspicuous bump at the tip of the snout, and the group includes the gharial, or gavial, and the false gharial [11]. The fossil record indicates that the group's relatives were once far more widely distributed than they are today.
The researchers suggest that cooling and falling sea levels reduced suitable habitats around the Mediterranean, while later warming may have allowed their diversity to recover. A skull found nearly a century ago has helped Egyptian and European researchers revise part of the crocodile family tree, shedding light on the Mediterranean's prehistoric wildlife [4].
Biogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants and animals, is used by researchers to learn about ancient migration routes, how species interacted, and how land masses may have moved [12]. The fossil's position within the Mokattam Formation places it in a sequence of rocks that have yielded numerous ancient remains.
The study authors stated that studying more fossils could help explain how these ancient crocodiles spread around the Mediterranean and why they later disappeared from the region.
References
- Scientists name ancient crocodile species found in rock that built the Great Sphinx. https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/06/science/ancient-crocodile-egypt-great-sphinx
- Ancient crocodile species named after Egyptian god found .... https://www.facebook.com/groups/1815569905355282/posts/4559227350989510/
- New crocodile species found in rocks of Egypt’s Great Sphinx. https://www.popsci.com/environment/new-crocodile-rocks-great-sphinx-egypt/
- Scientists identify ancient Sphinx-like Egyptian crocodile. https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/07/scientists-identify-ancient-egyptian-crocodile-whose-skull-is-missing-its-nose-like-the-sp
- Scientists Identify a New Crocodile Genus From the Rocks That Gave Us the Sphinx. https://www.vice.com/en/article/scientists-identify-a-new-crocodile-genus-from-the-rocks-that-gave-us-the-sphinx/
- Ancient Crocodile Species Discovered in the Same Stone That Built Egypt .... https://people.com/rock-used-in-great-sphinx-reveals-a-new-crocodile-species-12162492
- Scientists have identified the extinct crocodile species that .... https://www.facebook.com/cnn/posts/scientists-have-identified-the-extinct-crocodile-species-that-lived-millions-of-/1491600169499296/
- An extinct crocodilian was found among rocks that built the .... https://www.sciencenews.org/article/extinct-crocodilian-rocks-great-sphinx
- Scientists identify a crocodile they never knew existed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026/10/07/scientists-discovered-crocodile-they-never-knew-existed/
- Ancient crocodile species found in Great Sphinx rock named by scientists. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/scientists-name-ancient-crocodile-species-found-in-rock-that-built-the-great-sphinx/
- Fascinating animal facts Featuring whales elephants bears wolves monkeys turtles by Rhonda Klevansky
- Scientists Uncover Clues About How Dinosaurs - Mercola.com, August 01, 2019.
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