A team of researchers was digging through an area of Egypt, hoping to find some fossils. When they were about to give up on a specific section, they saw something unusual.

Teeth sticking out of a rock.

Upon further inspection, they found that this was a nearly complete skull, which they went on to extract. Finding any ancient skull on a dig like this is exciting, but when they analyzed it and found that it did not match any current known species, they realized they had something really special on their hands.

After confirming that it was indeed a skull from a newly discovered species, they got to name it. The team chose to name it Bastetodon after the Egyptian goddess of protection, pleasure, and health.

A full study was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The study found that the skull was about 30 million years old and came from what was at the time an apex predator. The Bastet was a member of the hyaenodonta family. This family of animals has shearing blades in their molars, allowing them to slice through the skin and bone of its prey.

This ancient animal would have been about the size of a modern leopard and would have likely been the apex land predator of its time. Given the period when it lived, it would have hunted things like monkeys, proboscidea (elephants), and possibly even ancient ancestors of humans.

Shorouq Al-Ashqar is a Mansoura University PhD student and member of the team. She put out a statement on the find, saying:

“The discovery of Bastetodon is a significant achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of hyaenodons and their global distribution. We are eager to continue our research to unravel the intricate relationships between these ancient predators and their environments over time and across continents.”

While this amazing animal was at the top of the food chain for quite some time, experts believe that a changing climate at the time allowed other animals to move in. Canines and felines (modern wolves, lions, tigers, etc) adapted to the changing world more quickly and were able to eventually push this species to extinction.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read a story that reveals Earth’s priciest precious metal isn’t gold or platinum and costs over $10,000 an ounce!