# Scientists Find Ancient Egyptian Crocodile Fossil

> Scientists identify 45-million-year-old Egyptian crocodile with Sphinx-like skull missing nose tip.
- Title: Scientists Find Ancient Egyptian Crocodile Fossil · euronews
- Summary: Scientists identify 45-million-year-old Egyptian crocodile with Sphinx-like skull missing nose tip. Scientists reclassified a 45-million-year-old Egyptian…
- Keywords: herugavialis, cairensis, mokattam formation, great sphinx, royal society open science, false gharial, indian gharial, mediterranean crocodile, fossil discovery, news, world, politics
- Source: euronews — https://euronews.com/2026/10/07/scientists-identify-ancient-egyptian-crocodile-whose-skull-is-missing-its-nose-like-the-sp
- Author: Mohamed Elashi
- Published: 2026-10-07T12:18:48+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: herugavialis, cairensis, mokattam formation, great sphinx, royal society open science, false gharial, indian gharial, mediterranean crocodile, fossil discovery, news, world, politics
## New Crocodile Genus Discovered
Scientists identified a new crocodile genus from a 45-million-year-old Egyptian fossil using CT scans on a skull recovered nearly a century ago.
## Skull Resembles Great Sphinx
The fossil comes from the Mokattam Formation, same limestone as the Great Sphinx, with a missing snout tip like the monument's absent nose.
## New Classification Published
Researchers from Egypt, the UK, Sweden and Germany named the animal Herugavialis cairensis after re-examining its skull structure and evolutionary relationships.
## Historical Classification Change
The animal was first described in 1927 as Tomistoma cairense but new findings placed it in a separate genus after nearly a century of classification.
## Distinctive Skull Features
Herugavialis had raised, projecting eye sockets and other differences that prompted the researchers to create a new genus for the species.
## Ancient Crocodile Habitat
About 45 million years ago, the region lay beneath shallow seas, with Herugavialis living alongside other long-snouted crocodile species.
## Key takeaway

Scientists reclassified a 45-million-year-old Egyptian crocodile fossil into a new genus after CT scans revealed it shares features with the Great Sphinx.