Malaysia’s false gharial is a living link to the same ancient crocodilian lineage that includes the newly identified ‘Sphinx crocodile’ from Egypt. (Britannica pic)PETALING JAYA: The Great Sphinx has spent thousands of years staring out across the Egyptian desert, but it turns out the rocks around it have been keeping an even older secret.
Scientists recently identified a previously unknown crocodilian that lived about 45 million years ago, long before pyramids, pharaohs or even the Sphinx itself entered the picture.
Named "Herugavialis cairensis", the long-snouted reptile is said to have come from the same geological formation used to carve the famous monument.
There is even a slightly mischievous coincidence: the fossil skull is missing the tip of its snout, much like the Sphinx is famously missing its nose.
