Earliest long-snouted fossil crocodile from Egypt reveals the African origins of seagoing crocs
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2025 17:11 ET (27-Oct-2025 21:11 GMT/UTC)
Egyptian paleontologists have discovered the earliest known member of Dyrosauridae — a group of long-snouted, coastal and marine Crocodyliforms— in the Western Desert of Egypt. The new species, Wadisuchus kassabi, lived around 80 million years ago and bridges a crucial fossil gap in the early evolution of marine crocs. The well-preserved skull and jaws, described in The Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, reveal transitional features in the development of the dyrosaurid snout and skull adaptations. The findings point to North Africa — particularly Egypt’s Quseir Formation — as the birthplace of Dyrosauridae before their global expansion following the dinosaur extinction.
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