Herugavialis cairensis – A newly identified extinct crocodilian, unearthed from the same 45-million-year-old limestone used to build the Great Sphinx, offers fresh insights into the evolutionary history of the gavial family.
The Great Sphinx of Giza is famous for its enigmatic. noseless profile. but it now has a prehistoric counterpart hidden within its very foundation. Researchers recently identified a fossilized crocodilian. pulled from the same 45-million-year-old limestone used to carve the monument. that also happens to be missing the tip of its snout.
Published October 7 in *Royal Society Open Science*. the study reclassifies what was long thought to be a known species of *Tomistoma*—a genus surviving today only in Southeast Asia—into an entirely new branch of the gavial family tree. The team named the creature *Herugavialis cairensis*. a nod to the Egyptian god Heru. also known as Horus. whose likeness is often associated with the Sphinx.
For nearly a century, the fossil’s identity remained static. German researchers first reported the skull in 1927, placing it within the *Tomistoma* genus. However, as evolutionary science progressed, that categorization began to look less certain. In 2023. while working toward a doctorate at University College London. paleontologist Paul Burke traveled to Germany to re-examine the specimen with modern tools. Utilizing 3-D X-ray technology. Burke and his colleagues mapped the creature’s internal brain and nasal cavities. conducting a level of forensic measurement impossible for their predecessors.
“As we’ve advanced in the last 100 years, we’ve got so many new methodologies we could implement to figure out what kind of species this fossil is,” says Burke, who is now based at the Sweden Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.
The findings reveal a story of an ancient. coastal predator that thrived when the Tethys Ocean still covered what is now northern Egypt. Unlike the modern gavials—rare. fish-eating reptiles with slender. needle-toothed snouts that are restricted to freshwater environments—*Herugavialis* patrolled nearshore saltwater habitats.
Khalafallah Salih. a paleontologist at Al Neelain University in Khartoum. Sudan. suggests the discovery underscores that the evolutionary path of African gavials was far more labyrinthine than previously understood. The data indicates *Herugavialis* does not share a close relationship with other known Mediterranean or African gavial-type crocodilians. appearing instead to have branched off from the lineage during an early stage of its development.
While the region has yielded various fossils—ranging from ancient fish and sharks to mammals—this particular specimen provides a unique bridge between natural history and the iconic architecture of Giza. It serves as a reminder of the biological diversity buried within the stone of one of the world’s most famous structures.
For Burke, the discovery is an opportunity to cast a light on a family of reptiles that often lives in the shadow of their more famous crocodile and alligator cousins. “They’re still alive today and they’re endangered,” he says. “So, we should know about them and their long history.”
Great Sphinx Herugavialis cairensis paleontology crocodilian fossil Giza evolution gavial Paul Burke archaeology natural history