Before the Pyramids, GIANTS Ruled Egypt…

Name: Before the Pyramids, GIANTS Ruled Egypt…
Uploaded: 2026-09-20T02:58:55+00:00
Duration: 12 min 24 s
Channel: Dinosaur Discovery

00:00The history of Egypt has long been a source of wonder and intrigue for many across the world,

00:05but what if we were to travel back beyond its human story? If we look at Egypt from an even

00:10more ancient standpoint, we're able to examine enormous dinosaurs, both herbivorous and predatory,

00:15as well as an impressive array of prehistoric mammals. In today's video, we're going to be

00:21taking a step back into Egypt's fossil record to examine some of the most awesome animals

00:25from the country's natural history.

00:46The rocks of Egypt are famous for containing some of the most amazing dinosaur species on record,

00:51one of which is Peraliton stromarii. Living in the Cenomanian stage of the late Cretaceous,

00:57Peraliton belonged to the Titanosauria clad, a group of sauropods that often grew to seemingly

01:02impossible sizes when contrasted with the reptiles of today. The animal's generic name translates

01:08into English as tidal giant, and recent size estimates for adults reach a jaw-dropping 26

01:14metres from nose to tail. An adult Peraliton of that size would have been capable of attaining weights

01:20of 30 to 55 tonnes in life. For the larger estimate, that's over nine times the weight of an adult

01:26male

01:26African elephant. Peraliton's remains were first unearthed in 1999 in Egypt's Bahariya Oasis region,

01:34around 370 kilometres from the capital, Cairo. American paleontologist Joshua B. Smith was the

01:41first to set eyes on the partial remains of the giant sauropod that would come to be known as Peraliton,

01:46which consisted of hip and tail vertebra, as well as elements of the upper forearms. Smith and his

01:52team would formally describe Peraliton stromarii in 2001, assigning the specific name in honour of

01:58Ernst Stromer, the paleontologist who first noted the presence of dinosaur fossils in the Bahariya

02:03Oasis in 1911. Sadly, to date, only 5.1% of Peraliton's skeleton is known to science,

02:10so paleontologists have much left to discover and learn about this awesome giant of the Lake

02:15Cretaceous. What we do know is that Peraliton was a resident of the famed Bahariya Formation,

02:21living alongside the other iconic dinosaurs we'll be meeting in today's video.

02:25Its partial skeleton had been preserved in what would have been a tidal mudflat

02:29between 100 million and 94 million years ago, which provided the genus with its name.

02:34It likely would have frequented wooded groves along the banks of lakes and coastlines,

02:39where it used its immensely long neck to browse from the tops of trees,

02:42unreachable to other herbivores of its time. As we will soon see however, Peraliton's incredible

02:48size did not rule out the possibility of predation in the Bahariya Formation,

02:52and it lived alongside another dinosaur that was likely capable of causing even adults some serious harm.

03:03The dinosaur in question is the iconic megatherapod of prehistoric Egypt,

03:09Carcharodontosaurus. If you know your dinosaurs, then you certainly know this one. With a mouthful

03:14of serrated knife-like teeth and an estimated adult size of up to 12 meters, this was essentially THE

03:20Carcharodontosaur. This animal was a widespread apex predator across much of North Africa during the

03:26Senomanian, and could be found as far east as Egypt, as far west as Morocco, and as far south as

03:31Niger.

03:33Named for its shark-like recurved teeth, Carcharodontosaurus relied upon its powerful jaws to

03:38bring down its prey, yet it was not a particularly bulky animal, at least not in comparison to the

03:42likes of Tyrannosaurus rex. Carcharodontosaurus's remains were actually first found in Egypt,

03:48as part of Ernst Stromer's initial expedition to the Bahariya Formation in April 1914.

03:55Austro-Hungarian paleontologist Richard Markgraff, known for his extensive work on the fossils of

04:00Mesozoic Egypt, retrieved the fossils on Stromer's behalf, which consisted of a partial skeleton belonging

04:05to the massive theropod. Carcharodontosaurus would not be formally described until 1925, however,

04:11when it was included in the wastebasket taxon of Megalosaurus after more teeth belonging to the

04:16dinosaur were discovered in Algeria. The genus of Carcharodontosaurus was not established until

04:221931 by Stromer himself, and within it was placed the species Carcharodontosaurus saharicus.

04:28Much is known about Carcharodontosaurus's way of life and feeding habits thanks to the extensive

04:33studies that have been undertaken on the dinosaurs' remains. It is known that this species preferred to

04:39use its teeth and jaws as lightweight slashing tools, and unlike the Tyrannosaurids, it was not a bone

04:44crusher, nor did it have an immensely powerful bite force. By inflicting deep cuts with its blade-like

04:49teeth, it was instead capable of causing gradual bleeding damage over time, bringing down animals

04:54as large as sauropods. While Carcharodontosaurus's vision was not quite as acute as T-Rex's was,

05:01its range was comparable to that of a modern-day crocodile, and as a result, it is believed that

05:06this dinosaur was an ambush predator, waiting in disguise to grab prey at the last second.

05:11As such, it may have clung close to the fringes of forests, close to fresh water,

05:15where it knew its prey would eventually congregate to drink.

05:23Where do we even begin with Spinosaurus? Without a doubt Egypt's most famous prehistoric animal,

05:29this dinosaur has undergone so many scientific revisions over the years, and has historically

05:34been depicted as a terrestrial apex predator, a quadrupedal piscivore, an aquatic pursuit predator,

05:40and most recently, a wading, heron-like animal that hunted giant fish. It too lived across much of

05:46North Africa during the Cenomanian stage of the late Cretaceous, and it too was initially collected

05:50and described by Ernst Stromer in 1912 and 1915 respectively. The type species, Spinosaurus

05:57aegyptychus, is of course most closely associated with the Biharia formation of Egypt, but this

06:02animal did in fact roam across much of the same range as Carcharodontosaurus. Those first remains

06:08collected by Stromer in the early 20th century were sadly destroyed in World War II when a Royal Air

06:13Force bombing raid destroyed the Bavarian State Collection of Palaeontology in Munich in the April of 1944.

06:20Spinosaurus's image and appearance as we know it today, then, has mostly come off the back of

06:24discoveries on Earth in the 21st century, and gradually the form of an immense, semi-aquatic,

06:30crocodilian-like animal has emerged. Spinosaurus aegyptychus was capable of reaching 14 meters in

06:36length when fully grown, it had a huge sail running along its back which may have been used for

06:40temperature regulation or display, and it boasted an impressive paddle-like tail to aid it in the water.

06:45It is by far one of the most iconic dinosaurs of the entire Mesozoic, having appeared in movies,

06:51documentaries, books and even video games over the years. Whether or not Spinosaurus was a diver or a

06:58wader is still up for debate, but thanks to the presence of salt glands in the animal's skull that

07:03resembled those seen in modern water birds, we know that it was at least capable of hunting in fresh

07:07water, brackish and marine environments. It was argued in 2024 by Nathan Mervold and team that Spinosaurus

07:16and its closest relatives were incapable of diving, and instead hunted like a stalk or heron, wading

07:21through shallow water before striking with her long jaws and conical teeth. Regardless of how it

07:27hunted them, we know that Spinosaurus' most likely prey items were the giant fish that shared the ancient

07:32Egyptian waterways with it, such as the four-meter-long source-gate Onchopristis numida,

07:37or the three-and-a-half-meter-long coelacanth, Morsonia geigas.

07:47Let's jump forward from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic now to examine some of the most impressive

07:51mammals that lived in Egypt after the reign of the dinosaurs. Between 36 and 27 million years ago,

07:58in the Eocene and Oligocene epochs, much of Egypt was blanketed in tropical forests adjacent to the warm,

08:03shallow Tethys Sea. Mangrove swamps and sandy beaches were commonplace, and a wide variety of

08:09unusual animals were able to evolve thanks to the abundance of food and the lush environments.

08:15Looking at one of Eocene Egypt's residents, Arsenoetherium zeteli, you'd be forgiven for

08:20thinking that rhinoceroses had evolved as the dominant herbivores here, but this was no rhino.

08:24Rather, this bizarre titan of the mangrove swamps was most closely related to living elephants,

08:29manatees and hyraxes. Arsenoetherium zeteli, the sole species native to Egypt, is believed to have

08:36grown to around three meters in length and weighed anywhere between 500 to 1500 kilograms when fully

08:41grown. The remains of Arsenoetherium, named and described in 1902 by Hugh John Llewellyn,

08:47are particularly impressive, with two enormous conical horns situated just above the animal's eyes,

08:53and two smaller ones sat just behind those. In life, these horns were most likely used for combat and

08:58display amongst males of the same species, and much like a pachycephalosaur, could have been used to

09:03push or jab into the flanks of opponents to drive them out of a particular territory.

09:07In a pinch, Arsenoetherium may also have used these horns to defend against predators,

09:12including the several species of carnivorous wolf-like hyenodonts that coexisted in the

09:16Egyptian mangrove swamps at the same time. When it wasn't using those spectacular horns,

09:22Arsenoetherium was likely quietly browsing from low-growing vegetation, much like a modern-day rhinoceros would.

09:27Given its close proximity to the shallow marine environments of the Tethys Sea, and the broad

09:32structure of its forelimbs, some paleontologists have speculated that Arsenoetherium may have been

09:37semi-aquatic, diving for aquatic plants. Isotope analysis of the chemical elements within Arsenoetherium's

09:44remains, however, have revealed that this animal rarely entered the water, and spent much of its

09:48time browsing for plant matter on land.

09:55There's nothing on Earth today that even remotely resembles Phyomocetus anubis.

10:00Those who are new to the topic of mammal evolution would be forgiven for thinking that this peculiar

10:05animal was related to otters or seals, but in fact, Phyomocetus's ancestry lies among the whales.

10:11The remains of this unusual marine carnivore date back to between 43 and 42 million years ago,

10:18where it lived in Egypt's Al-Ameim region, situated in what is now the western desert.

10:22Discovered and named as recently as 2021, the holotype consists of a partial skeleton,

10:28including the cranium, right mandible, several teeth and vertebrae, and some ribs.

10:32The animal's name is derived from the Phyom depression,

10:36the particular segment of the western desert in which its remains were found,

10:39with Cetus translating to whale from Latin. The specific name, Anubis, meanwhile, comes of course

10:45from the ancient Greek term for the iconic Egyptian god of the afterlife.

10:49Phyomocetus is a transitional whale, essentially halfway between the terrestrial dog-like animals

10:54that initially gave rise to the cetaceans and the giants of the oceans they would one day eventually

10:59become. This species was capable of locomotion both in and out of the water, but although its stocky

11:05limbs could support it on land, it was most likely ungainly and awkward until it entered the

11:09aquatic realm, much like a seal. Measuring around three meters from nose to tail,

11:14Phyomocetus was an active pursuit predator, acrobatically darting through the water after

11:18large fish, turtles and maybe even other primitive whales, ripping them apart with jagged teeth.

11:24While adult Phyomocetus were formidable coastal hunters that likely feared only the largest of

11:29sharks and whales, youngsters were much more vulnerable. Predators such as the many crocodiles

11:34that lined the banks of the waters would have jumped at the chance to snatch a young

11:38Phyomocetus from the beach, while another species of whale, Rayonistes apha, is believed to have been

11:43an opportunistic hunter of Phyomocetus young.

11:51While scientists have gathered a great deal of information about the lifestyles and histories of

11:55Egypt's prehistoric animals, there's still a lot left to learn.

11:59Beneath the rocks and sands of modern-day Egypt, countless species of significant

12:03interest are waiting to be discovered, be they mammal or dinosaur, and we can't wait to see what

12:08emerges from the desert next. As always, thank you so much for watching to the end of today's video,

12:13we hope you enjoyed it. Let us know in the comments what your favorite prehistoric animal from Egypt was,

12:18don't forget to like, hype, and subscribe to Dinosaur Discovery, and we'll see you next time!

Before the Pyramids, GIANTS Ruled Egypt…

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