Professor Hesham Sallam delivered a public lecture at the Alexandria National Museum as part of the “Heritage Ambassadors” program.

During the lecture, Professor Sallam presented the scientific story behind the discovery of Mansourasaurus, the first Egyptian dinosaur to be named and described by an Egyptian-led team. The talk highlighted the scientific and cultural significance of this remarkable fossil discovery and its role in promoting public engagement with Egypt’s natural heritage.

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The Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP) proudly announces that Dr. Sanaa El-Sayed has been awarded the prestigious DEEP Award, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to diversity, equity, engagement, and public outreach in the field of paleontology.

This achievement reflects MUVP’s growing international recognition and underscores its leading role in training and supporting young scientists who represent Egypt on the global scientific stage. 

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Dr. Shorouq Al-Ashqar has been awarded a PhD in Philosophy of Science, marking the first doctoral degree conferred since the establishment of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP).

This achievement represents an important milestone for the Center and further reinforces its position as one of Egypt’s leading institutions in vertebrate paleontology and interdisciplinary scientific research.

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An international research study co-authored by the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (Sallam Lab) has reshaped current understanding of whale evolution by revealing evidence of early brain enlargement alongside the retention of ancestral sensory capabilities.

Published in the journal Evolution, the study is based on detailed analyses of fossil whales from Egypt and highlights a critical stage in the evolutionary transition of whales from terrestrial to fully aquatic life.

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Discovering a new species of an extinct whale, that inhabited the ancient sea covering present-day Egypt around 41 million years ago.

Life reconstruction of the extinct basilosaurid whale Tutcetus rayanensis swimming in the Tethys Ocean of present-day Egypt, 41 million years ago. Illustration by Ahmed Morsi.
Credit: Hesham Sallam - Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center

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Dr Sanaa El-Sayed's Groundbreaking Work on Vertebrate Fossils in Egypt and the Middle East Earns International Recognition

 Sanaa El-Sayed, an assistant lecturer at Mansoura University's Department of Geology in the Faculty of Science, has been awarded the prestigious American Association of University Women's Award for 2023. This award recognizes Sanaa's outstanding contributions to the field of vertebrate paleontology, specifically her groundbreaking research on vertebrate fossils in Egypt and the Middle East.

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An Egyptian-American team of researchers has announced the discovery of a new kind of large-bodied meat-eating dinosaur, or theropod, from a celebrated fossil site in Egypt’s Sahara Desert.

The fossil of a still-unnamed species provides the first known record of the abelisaurid group of theropods from a middle Cretaceous-aged (approximately 98 million years old) rock unit known as the Bahariya Formation, which is exposed in the Bahariya Oasis of the Western Desert of Egypt.

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