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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Life reconstruction of the extinct protocetid whale Phiomicetus anubis, preying upon a sawfish. Illustration by Dr. Robert W. Boessenecker.

In recent years, insights from fossils have added details to this story, but the big picture of early whale evolution in Africa has largely remained a mystery. Nonetheless, in the Sahara Desert of Egypt, an international team led by Egyptian scientists has discovered a remarkable new amphibious whale, Phiomicetus anubis, from middle Eocene rocks, 43 million years old, that helps complete this picture.

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 (MUVP) center received a delegation from Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Romania.

Prof. Hesham Sallam, Founder of Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology center (MUVP), received on Monday 16 Oct 2020 a delegation from Banat University for Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Timisoara, Romania. The visit has been within the framework of Erasmus Plus project of students and faculty mobility.

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Fayoum’s Zowara ecolodge has officially opened a natural museum on its Fayoum grounds in the heart of Wadi El Rayan of the Western Desert of Egypt, to help document and celebrate the rich history of its protectorate.

With research and participation provided by Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology center (MUVP), the house is home to a variety of fossils, bones, and artifacts, showing off the breadth of Fayoum's wildlife, archeological and paleontological heritage.

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