Paleontologists uncover a nearly complete skull of a 30 million-year-old apex carnivore in Egypt

Subscribe to the newsletter of Wonder’s Wonder Science. Explore the universe with news about wonderful discoveries, scientific progress and more.

With cat -like teeth and a dog -like body, ancient meat animals called hynodonts at the top of the food chain, but the entire proportions were eliminated about 25 million years ago, leaving prehistoric in what caused the extinction of APEX.

Now, an international team of fossil scientists has found a new part of the puzzle – a full skull of an unlimited type of Hyaenodonta. This discovery may lead to scientists one step to understand these fierce monsters and their evolutionary history.

The hole, which was discovered in depression in the western desert of Egypt, is the most complete skull in the Hyaenodonta sub -category Hyainailourinae It can be found in Africa. The history of the skull dates back early Oligosin era About 30 million years ago, according to a study published on Monday in Vertebrate Magazine Magazine.

When the authors of the study discovered the skull in 2020, they shouted enthusiastically because they realized their rare discovery. Calculators Center at Mansura University A researcher at the American University in Cairo.

“It was an amazing moment …” Ashkar said. “This skull is important for us, not only because it is complete and three dimensions, and in fact it is beautiful, but it also provides us with new features to learn more about this extinct group of meat animals.”

The researchers called the Basttedo Syrtos species as a reference to the ancient Egyptian goddess headed by the cat Bastite Because of the unique shortening of its kind compared to the other hynodonts, according to the study. Along with sharp teeth and knives, Snout had gave the creature a very strong bite, according to Ashqar.

Ashkar said: “We can say frankly that Bastetodon was the king of the ancient Egyptian forest.”

Al -Ahfour provides a rare overview at a time of global environmental changes Animal rotationWhen some species are extinct while new species are presented due to varying changes in habitats. The researchers said that these changes helped to determine the cat and dog predators that were seen today.

Old meat eaters

Hyaenodonta fossils are found throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of them were like a single -century, while others resemble a small wedding.

During the period of oligosin, depression FayUM was a lush rain forest. Bastetodon had prey to the prime ministers like aegyptopithecusAn old relative of humans, as well as river mares and early elephants.

“I think it is like a truly fat or like Pitbulls. Dr. Matthew Porstes, the co -author of the study, the fossil secretary at the Duke Limore Museum of Natural History at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said that they have really large heads covered with muscles.

It is rare to find old meat fossils because there are fewer meat animals in the ecosystem from other animals such as herback animals. (For example, you are more likely to see a squirrel or deer at a height of Kogar, as BROHS said.)

Portraz said that the discovery of such a full skull allows researchers to learn concrete traits of the animal, such as the extent of comparison of large muscle attachments to the size of its teeth, the size of its brain, or even the strength of his sense of smell.

The researchers also compared the Basttedon skull with the fossils of the largest Hyaenodonta species that are in Africa about 120 years ago. It was believed that the last group called Sekhmetops by the authors of the study was originally linked to a European group of Hyaenodonts. While the jaws and cheekbones were not found only of the largest species, researchers were able to compare the results reached by these remains with the Basttudon skull and show that both meat animals belong to the same group of Hyaenodonts that arose in Africa.

“In an email,” said Dr. Nancy Stevens, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Natural History Museum at the University of Colorado Boldar.

Stevens, who did not participate in the study, said: “The detailed analyzes of samples like this can explore the complicated movement patterns of predators across the landscape in the past,” said Stevens, who did not participate in the study. “This leads to a better understanding of the animal dynamics around us today.”

Animal rotation

the EOCENE-Ligocene Borders A global cooling event occurred about 34 million years ago, causing mass extinction and animal rotation. Porters said that Hyaenodonts, which survived, explained how the animals were adaptable and flexible.

After a few million years, they became extinct and replaced with relatives of dogs, cats, and sisters. By filling the gaps in the fossil registry, fossil scientists can better understand why Hyaenodonts, which was one day successful and how much adaptation and pressure from the environment that the proportions could deal with, added BROHS.

“The end of Hyaenodonta in the late oligosin shows how climate change, competitive pressures and changes in the availability of prey affect meat animals,” said Dr. Catherine Faf, a post -PhD researcher and lecturer at the Biology Institute at the University of Vienna in Austria. She was not involved in the study.

“The fact that they lost in front of cats and dogs in their development are still a mystery, but their very specialized teeth may be caused,” PFAF said in an email, referring to the arrangement and development of animal teeth. “For this reason, this complete discovery, as shown here, is approaching a step closer to solving mystery, even (if) it is just a medium -sized sample.”

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account on Cnn.com