Scientists from the Vertebrate Palaeontology Centre at Mansoura University in Egypt have identified a new genus of ancient crocodilian, named Hervogavialis, through an international study of a fossil discovered in the Mokattam Hills in 1927. This was reported by TV BRICS.
The fossil dates back approximately 45 million years to the Middle Eocene, when Egypt had warm, shallow marine environments inhabited by diverse species. Previously classified as Tomistoma cairense, the specimen was reassessed using modern anatomical and evolutionary analysis. Researchers assigned the species to the newly identified genus, giving it the scientific name Hervogavialis cairensis.
Using detailed analysis of the skull's internal structure, digital reconstruction and anatomical comparisons, the scientists identified distinctive features around the eye socket and other parts of the skull. The snout accounts for approximately 64 per cent of the skull's length, while evolutionary analysis indicates that Hervogavialis represents an early branch of the gavial lineage rather than grouping directly with the African or Mediterranean species included in the study.
The findings also reveal changes in the diversity of long-snouted crocodilians in the Mediterranean. Their variety declined during the late Eocene and Oligocene, possibly due to global cooling and falling sea levels, before increasing again during the Miocene as temperatures and sea levels rose.
According to Hisham Sallam, founder of Mansoura University's Vertebrate Palaeontology Centre and head of the Egyptian team, the research forms part of wider efforts to study fossil crocodilians from Egypt and North Africa. The centre's initiative to study Egyptian fossils held abroad aims to reassess historical specimens in international museum collections, using modern imaging techniques and new comparative data to reveal further information about ancient life.
