Discover Magazine
Egyptian paleontologists could look 80 million years into the past by analyzing fossils belonging to the Dyrosauridae clade, the ancient cousins of modern crocodiles. What’s more, their descriptions,

published in The Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, revealed that the fossils were actually a distinct species, now called Wadisuchus kassabi, and dated as the earliest known member of their family.

Their discovery helps paint a clearer picture of how crocodiles evolved and what made them so resilient compared to other reptiles that did not survive the massive extinction events of the past.