Latest news with #Bastetodon
CBC
21-02-2025
- Science
- CBC
Newly discovered ancient apex predator had knife-sharp teeth and bone-crushing jaws
What had the body of a dog, the face of a cat, and jaws powerful enough to potentially crush the bones of an elephant? Meet the Bastetodon, a newly discovered species of apex predator, roughly the size of a leopard or a hyena, that roamed the lush forests of ancient Egypt some 30 million years ago. "It is really the king of the ancient forests," Shorouq Al-Ashqar, a palaeontologist at Mansoura University and the American University in Cairo, told As It Happens guest host Helen Mann. Al-Ashqar is the lead author of a new study identifying the species based on an analysis of a remarkably intact skull discovered in the Egyptian desert. The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 'Like it died yesterday' Researchers unearthed the skull in 2020 during an expedition to the Fayum Depression, an archeologically rich site in Egypt's western deserts. For days, the scientists meticulously excavated layers of rock, when suddenly, team member Belal Salem, who is now with Ohio University, noticed a large set of teeth sticking out of the ground. Salem "shouted excitedly" to the rest of the team to come look, says Al-Ashqar. "That was a moment," she said. When she first laid eyes on the fossil, Al-Ashqar says she was blown away. It was almost perfectly intact, save for a few cracks, "like it died yesterday." "For any paleontologist to find a three-dimensional skull … or fossil, it's very rare because it's buried under the rocks for millions of millions of years," she said. After analyzing the skull, and comparing it with other fossils on record, the team determined it belonged to an extinct order of mammals called hyaenodonta — fearsome carnivores who evolved before modern-day cats, dogs and hyenas. Because of its cat-like teeth structure, the team decided to call it Bastetodon, after the cat-headed ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, who symbolizes protection, pleasure, and good health. The researchers also compared the fossil to that of another lion-sized species of hyaenodonta discovered in Fayum more than 120 years ago, which they have dubbed Sekhmetops, after Sekhmet, the lion-headed Egyptian goddess of wrath and war. "We are super proud of our ancient Egyptian history," Al-Ashqar said. While Sekhmetops was originally believed to have originated in Europe, the team concluded both it and Bastetodon came from Africa before spreading to Asia, Europe, India, and North America. What did it eat? Hans Larsson, a Canadian paleontologist who was not involved in the study, called it "pretty cool." "It's a remarkably complete specimen from a time and place where such complete fossils are incredibly rare," Larsson, curator of vertebrate paleontology at McGill University in Montreal, said in an email. Larsson says he wonders what kind of impact the Bastetodon would have had on the food chain. "The presence of Bastetodon must have had implications for the complexity of the ecosystem to be able to support such a large carnivore," he said. "This 'top dog' in the food chain must have had an equally impressive diet." Al-Ashqar suspects it preyed on primates, early hippos and early elephants, all of which have been found on the fossil record for that time. While it only weighed roughly 27 kilograms, its knife-like teeth, powerful jaws and sheer strength meant it could take down large animals, and would not have had any predators of its own. "They were really, really fearsome animals," she said. But if hyaenodonta were so tough, why did they die out? That's a matter of debate among scientists, Al-Ashqar said. Some theorize a changing climate and dying vegetation reduced the availability of prey and caused them to perish. The desert where the skull was found, for example, was once a lush rainforest. Others, she says, believe they were wiped out when they were forced to compete with the ancestors of modern cats, dogs and hyenas, which arrived in Africa when tectonic shifts changed the shape of Earth's continents. Whatever happened to them, she says studying fossils in places like Fayum helps scientists understand how animals adapted — or, in this case, failed to adapt — to huge global changes. "When we study the impact of climate change and the ecological pressures on the past animals, we can know or have a scenario about what would happen for our ecosystem, or for us as humans in the ecosystem," she said.
National Geographic
21-02-2025
- Science
- National Geographic
Near perfect skull of apex predator reveals its 'meat cleaving bite'
Clues about a predator's powerful bite Fossils similar to Bastetodon had been found in Africa before, and previous generations of paleontologists classified them as another hyaenodont from Europe called Pterodon. The new fossil, however, shows that the fossil found in the Fayum is something new. 'They make a good case that Bastetodon is a distinct new genus,' says Swedish Museum of Natural History paleontologist Lars Werdelin, who was not involved in the new study. In life, Al-Ashqar and colleagues estimate, Bastetodon would have been about 60 pounds. It was not one of the largest hyaenodonts, but neither was it one of the smallest. The fossil mammal's body mass, Werdelin notes, would have been comparable to that of a striped hyena or small female leopard. The teeth of Bastetodon show the prehistoric mammal's ability to shear flesh. Whereas fossil skulls are often missing teeth, the cranium of Bastetodon includes a complete upper row of teeth up to the canine. The arrangement indicated that Bastetodon had fewer teeth than some other hyaenodonts, missing a premolar and a molar seen in other species. That gives Bastetodon a relatively short, broad, and more cat-like snout best suited to delivering powerful bites.
Al-Ahram Weekly
18-02-2025
- Science
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Bastetodon, a new 30-million-year-old species of predatory mammal unearthed in Egypt - Society
Mansoura University announced on Monday that a research team from the university's Vertebrate Paleontology Centre has discovered a new species of predatory mammals that lived in Egypt 30 million years ago. The team, led by renowned Egyptian paleontologist Dr Hesham Sallam, has also reclassified a group of predatory mammals that was first identified 120 years ago. The study, conducted by lead researcher Shorouq Al-Ashqar, was recently published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Dr Sallam emphasized that this discovery highlights the critical role of climate change in shaping ancient ecosystems. The fossil was unearthed during a 2020 expedition by the Sallam Lab team in the Fayoum Depression. The excavation yielded an exceptionally well-preserved, three-dimensional skull, allowing for detailed anatomical and morphological studies. The team identified the newly discovered species as Bastetodon, named after the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet. Additionally, a previously recognized group of lion-sized mammals, classified initially as Pterodon, has been renamed Sekhmetops in honour of the goddess Sekhmet. More about Bastetodon According to lead researcher Dr Al-Ashqar, Bastetodon was a formidable predator, weighing approximately 27 kilograms — comparable to a modern hyena or leopard. It possessed razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaw muscles, enabling it to prey on a diverse range of animals that roamed the region at the time, including early primates, ancestral hippos, elephants, and hyraxes. Al-Ashqar emphasized the significance of this discovery in providing new evidence for the evolution of predatory mammals in Africa. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that these creatures evolved elsewhere before migrating to the continent. Instead, the study supports the idea that Africa was the original homeland of these apex predators before they spread globally. More about Sekhmetops The study also reassessed the classification of Pterodon, which was previously thought to have existed in Europe and Africa. However, new analyses confirmed that its true origin was solely in Europe. As a result, the research team assigned the name Sekhmetops to another species discovered in the ancient forests of Fayoum from the same era. The suffix '-ops' derives from the Greek word for 'face,' further linking the name to the revered Egyptian warrior goddess Sekhmet. Dr Al-Ashqar noted that this change is not merely a renaming but a precise reclassification that reflects the accuracy of modern paleontological research in correcting historical errors. She added that such revisions contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary relationships among species that lived millions of years ago. Morphological and statistical analyses utilizing phylogenetic techniques confirmed that Bastetodon and Sekhmetops belong to the family Hyainailourinae, a subgroup of hyaenodonts. Hyaenodonts were dominant mammalian predators in Africa following the extinction of the dinosaurs. The study further established that this family originated in the Afro-Arabian landmass and spread through multiple migration waves to Asia, Europe, India, and North America. Dr. Sallam stressed the immense scientific value of the Fayoum Depression in advancing the human understanding of mammalian evolution. He described the site as a "scientific treasure trove" that offers a window into Earth's biological history across different geological epochs. 'This discovery would not have been possible without the dedication and collaboration of our research team, who meticulously analyzed the fossil samples and conducted comprehensive classification studies,' Sallam stated. He added that the research focused on identifying new species and explored how environmental and climatic factors influenced their evolutionary pathways. Short link:
USA Today
18-02-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Video shows 30-million-year-old skull of apex predator that could solve extinction riddle
Video shows 30-million-year-old skull of apex predator that could solve extinction riddle Show Caption Hide Caption Nearly complete skull of apex carnivore found in Egypt A nearly complete skull of a leopard-sized carnivore was discovered in the Egyptian desert. In a rare find, a team of scientists in Egypt uncovered a nearly complete skull that offers insight into a not-before-discovered apex predator species that lived 30 million years ago. Published on Monday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the results of the desert dig painted the picture of a fearsome, big-cat creature with a strong jaw and sharp teeth that occupied the spot at the top of the food chain during the Oligocene Epoch era. Discovered in Fayum, Egypt, the powerful predator would have lived in a then-tropical rainforest environment. The newly-discovered species, named Bastetodon syrtos, is part of the Hyaenodonta family, an extinct species of carnivore that evolved long before modern cats, dogs and hyenas but resembled early versions of modern big cats. This lineage once ruled the food chain in the time after dinosaurs went extinct, preying on primates, early hippos, early elephants and hyraxes, but were later wiped out themselves. In life, the Bastetodon was leopard-sized with a short, cat-like snout, hyena-like teeth and a dog-like body. A 'dream' discovery The discovery of the most complete skull ever found belonging to the hyaenodonta subfamily hyainailourinae almost didn't happen, according to paleontologist and lead author Shorouq Al-Ashqar from Mansoura University and the American University in Cairo. "Just as we were about to conclude our work, a team member spotted something remarkable —a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground," she said in a statement. "His excited shout brought the team together, marking the beginning of an extraordinary discovery: a nearly complete skull of an ancient apex carnivore, a dream for any vertebrate paleontologist.' The team, called Sallam Lab, made the find while digging in the Fayum Depression, a basin in the desert known as one of the most significant fossil deposits in Africa. They chose to name the newly-found species after the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, the cat-headed symbol of protection, pleasure and good health. New skull may help solve extinction riddle The discovery also prompted Sallam Lab scientists to re-visit the findings on a separate lion-sized Hyaenodont species discovered more than 120 years ago. The team constructed the genus of Sekhmetop, named after the lion-headed goddess of wrath and war Sekhmet, and found that it, like the Bastetodon, originated in Africa and not Europe as 1904 scientists originally thought. This finding gives scientists some more insight into what exactly happened to the once-fierce king of the jungle and its kin. Hyaenodonts lived in Asia, Europe, India and North America - the new study demonstrates that Bastetodon and Sekhmetop likely spread from Africa to these regions in waves. The team theorized that "cataclysmic" changes in global climate and tectonic shifts made way for the distant relatives of modern cats, dogs and hyenas to begin evolving. As the environment and therefore its prey changed, hyaendodonts diminished in diversity and eventually went extinct. "The discovery of Bastetodon is a significant achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of hyaenodonts and their global distribution,' Al-Ashqa's statement continued. 'We are eager to continue our research to unravel the intricate relationships between these ancient predators and their environments over time and across continents.'
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Ancient 'fearsome' cat-like skull discovered by palaeontologists
A team of scientists in Egypt have found a rare ancient skull belonging to a "fearsome" cat-like palaeontologists think the skull belongs to a new species of hyaenodonta - which is an extinct deadly predator that lived around 30 million-years had sharp teeth like a hyena, and were around the size of a leopard, hunting primates and early hippos across Africa after the research team - also known as Sallam Lab - named the new species Bastetodon, after the ancient Egyptian cat-headed goddess Bastet, and "-odon" meaning "tooth". The skull was discovered in the Fayum Depression, in Egypt, an area where digs have revealed important artifacts over 15 million years of evolutionary history of mammals in about the discovery, palaeontologist and lead author, Shorouq Al-Ashqar, said "For days, the team meticulously excavated layers of rock dating back around 30 million years."Just as we were about to conclude our work, a team member spotted something remarkable —a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground. "His excited shout brought the team together, marking the beginning of an extraordinary discovery: A nearly complete skull of an ancient apex carnivore, a dream for any vertebrate paleontologist," she added. This new discovery also allowed the team to make note of differences in previous discoveries from 120 years ago."The discovery of Bastetodon is a significant achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of hyaenodonts," Shorouq added."We are eager to continue our research to unravel the intricate relationships between these ancient predators and their environments over time and across continents."
