\n<\/p>\n
In Fayum, Egypt, where now lies a barren desert, a lush forest once stood, teeming with life.<\/p>\n
Paradise for all creatures therein, however, it was not. The primates, hippopotamuses, elephants, and hyraxes<\/a> that lived there 30 million years ago were all likely prey for one fearsome hunter: a leopard-sized apex predator with crushing jaws and razor-sharp teeth.<\/p>\n We know this because paleontologists have just made a startling find: a nearly complete skull from this newly discovered hypercarnivore. It belonged to a member of the extinct order of carnivores known as Hyaenodonta<\/a>.<\/p>\n A team led by paleontologist Shorouq Al-Ashqar of Mansoura University and the American University in Egypt has given the fearsome creature the name Bastetodon syrtos<\/i>, after the Egyptian lioness-headed goddess of protection, Bastet<\/a>.<\/p>\n “For days, the team meticulously excavated layers of rock dating back around 30 million years,” Al-Ashqar recalls<\/a> of the dig that yielded the fossilized skull bones.<\/p>\n “Just as we were about to conclude our work, a team member spotted something remarkable \u2013 a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground. His excited shout brought the team together, marking the beginning of an extraordinary discovery: a nearly complete skull of an ancient apex carnivore, a dream for any vertebrate paleontologist.”<\/p>\n