https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/scientists-make-jaw-dropping-discovery-in-rock-used-to-build-sphinxContinuously updated, source-cited coverage. https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/scientists-make-jaw-dropping-discovery-in-rock-used-to-build-sphinxhttps://www.live-feeds.com/feed/scientists-make-jaw-dropping-discovery-in-rock-used-to-build-sphinx#u132701Sun, 18 Oct 2026 17:41:44 +0000Paleontologists have identified a new extinct species of long-snouted crocodile, Herugavialis cairensis, from fossils found in the limestone used to sculpt the Great Sphinx of Giza. The 18-inch skull, discovered in the 1920s and held at the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, was previously misclassified as the genus Tomistoma. A study led by Paul Burke and published October 7, 2026, determines the creature lived approximately 45 million years ago in the warm, shallow seas of northern Egypt.Why it mattersThe Great Sphinx was carved from the Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation bedrock. Thi