80-Million-Year-Old Egyptian Fossil Rewrites Crocodile Evolution — Meet Wadisuchus kassabi

Scientists have identified a newly named crocodile relative from Egypt that pushes back a major chapter in crocodyliform evolution. Wadisuchus kassabi, an approximately 80-million-year-old fossil from the Campanian Quseir Formation, is now recognized as the oldest known dyrosaurid. Its skull anatomy reveals early bite and snout specializations that suggest dyrosaurids began diversifying in Africa millions of years earlier than previously thought.

Discovery and Context
Excavations by the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology team, led by paleontologist Sara Saber, recovered two partial skulls and two snout tips from animals that died at different growth stages. The remains were found in layers of glaucous sandstone, greenish siltstone and gray claystone that represent ancient lagoon deposits near the Kharga and Baris oases in Egypt’s Western Desert. CT scans indicate an adult Wadisuchus measured roughly 3.5–4 meters (11.5–13 feet) long.

What Makes Wadisuchus Special?
Wadisuchus displays a mix of primitive and derived features. Its teeth were dagger-like and well suited for catching fish and other aquatic prey, but the snout shows important innovations: four teeth at the front of the snout (rather than five seen in more primitive relatives), a deep notch where the jaws meet near the snout tip, and dorsally positioned nostrils that would allow breathing while mostly submerged. These traits mark an early stage in the evolution of longirostry (a long, narrow snout) within dyrosaurids.

“Wadisuchus provides critical insights into the early diversification, palaeobiogeography, and cranial evolution of Dyrosauridae, confirming longirostry as an early-acquired trait and highlighting North Africa as a key region in their origin,” said Sara Saber in the study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Broader Significance
Because Wadisuchus dates to the Campanian (~80 million years ago), its age pushes the African origin and diversification of dyrosaurids back by at least 11 million years. That timing helps fill a gap in our understanding of crocodyliform evolution leading up to—and surviving through—the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction triggered by the Chicxulub impact.

Natural History and Cultural Links
Longirostry is seen today in species like the gharial, which use narrow jaws to capture fish. Long, narrow snouts can bring trade-offs (some modern longirostrine crocodilians suffer nasal and septal problems), but whether Wadisuchus experienced similar health issues cannot be determined from the available fossils. The genus name draws on regional cultural history: "Suchus" echoes the ancient Greek form of the Coptic name for the crocodile god Sobek, "wadi" is Arabic for valley, and the species honors Egyptian paleontologist Ahmed Kassab.

Local Fossil Record
Wadisuchus is not the only crocodyliform from this region: Wahasuchus egyptensis, described in 2018, is another distinct crocodilian relative from the Late Cretaceous of the Egyptian Western Desert. Together, these discoveries emphasize North Africa’s role as an important center for crocodyliform diversity during the Late Cretaceous.

Looking Ahead
Additional finds and more complete skeletons would help clarify Wadisuchus’s ecology, growth patterns, and the precise timing of early dyrosaurid evolution. For now, Wadisuchus kassabi reshapes how paleontologists view the origins and early diversification of a lineage that survived one of Earth’s most devastating mass extinctions.