A team of paleontologists led by Shorouq Al-Ashqar has made a groundbreaking discovery in Fayum, Egypt, uncovering the nearly complete skull of a 30-million-year-old hypercarnivore. The fossil, named Bastetodon syrtos, belongs to an extinct order of carnivores known as Hyaenodonta.
The team excavated layers of rock dating back around 30 million years and found the fossilized skull bones after a team member spotted something remarkable – a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground. The discovery is significant for understanding the diversity and evolution of hyaenodonts, which spread across the Northern hemisphere from Africa.
The Fayum Depression, where the bones were found, represents an incredibly rich and important fossil assemblage for a 15 million-year period in the region’s history. Paleontologists have been working in the area for over a century, uncovering a rich ecosystem that once thrived there.
The discovery of Bastetodon sheds light on its diet, lifestyle, and survival strategies, revealing dentition consistent with Hyaeonodonta. The animal was a hypercarnivore, occupying a top predator position in its local food web. The findings also contextualize fossils discovered 120 years ago, which were previously lumped together with European hyaenodonts.
The research has been published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and marks a significant achievement in understanding the global distribution of hyaenodonts.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/30-million-old-hypercarnivore-skull-044256612.html