A rare and nearly complete skull discovered in Egypt’s Fayum Depression has led scientists to identify a new species of the extinct group Hyaenodonta. The fossil, nicknamed Bastetodon, is estimated to be around 30 million years old and measures leopard-sized. It boasts powerful jaws with sharp, slicing teeth, allowing it to prey on primates, early elephants, and other mammals in a forested region that has since become desert.
Study lead author Shorouq Al-Ashqar, a paleontologist at Mansoura University and the American University in Cairo, describes the discovery: “We were about to conclude our work when a team member spotted something remarkable – a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground.” The researchers have determined that Bastetodon is a member of Hyaenodonta, a group of formidable hunters that thrived in African ecosystems before modern cats, dogs, or hyenas.
Bastetodon draws its name from Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of protection in ancient Egyptian mythology. Its defining trait – powerful jaws with slicing teeth – emphasizes its ability to capture and cut through flesh. The researchers believe Bastetodon would have ruled the prehistoric food chain in what was then a lush, forested environment.
The study revisits fossils discovered in the same region more than a century ago, reclassifying them under the genus Sekhmetops. This new evidence challenges older assumptions that placed such fossils with hyaenodont groups from Europe. The researchers noted that Bastetodon and Sekhmetops both belonged to an African lineage of hyaenodonts that later spread into Asia, Europe, India, and North America.
The discovery of Bastetodon sheds light on the evolution and distribution of hyaenodonts, with global climates shifting from warmer to cooler conditions during the Eocene through the Oligocene periods. Researchers plan to continue unearthing fossils to refine the narrative of how prehistoric African predators adapted, diversified, and eventually gave way to modern carnivores.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/bastetodon-fearsome-predator-was-once-king-of-the-ancient-egyptian-forests