Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

River Mother (100 MYA)

Bahariya Formation, Egypt, 100 Million Years Ago

Today, Egypt is regarded as one of the driest parts of the world. Here in the middle of the Cretaceous period, it is a vastly different one. The land we'd recognize as North Africa's Sahara Desert is completely engulfed in a shallow sea. This vast body of water stretches from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco to the Red Sea Hills of Egypt.

At the edges of this body of water aren't the dunes we're familiar with, but rather dry, tropical swamps. The semi-arid overbank is draped in a variety of low-lying vegetation. A mix of various greens amongst the wet, sandy ground beneath. Many of these plants are horsetails, ferns, shrubs, and early angiosperms. They live in the shadow of a scattered array of trees. This collective of higher vegetation is a mix of medium conifers, magnoliids, and tree ferns towered over by much larger eudicot and dammara trees. This canopy is a haven for Cretaceous Egypt's largest residents, long-necked sauropods.

Two species graze the treetops, the smaller of which is Aegyptosaurus. They grow up to 50 feet in length and stand nearly as tall as a modern giraffe. Their long necks support a head that's comparatively small with a short snout and a mouth filled with spoon-shaped teeth. These same necks are balanced out by a tail roughly the same length. Thick, chunky, 11-ton bodies are supported by four sturdy, log-like legs with feet that sport short, blunt, and broad toes. The small scales of their skin are partly covered in round, dark-brown, bony plates called osteoderms. Chestnut colors their backs while the rest of their bodies are sandy beige. The primary food source of the Aegyptosaurs is medium-height trees and lower vegetation as they are too small to reach the tallest of the conifers.

Instead, a different long-neck feeds on them. Amongst the Aegyptosaurus in smaller quantities are Paralititans. They too are sauropods but are much larger at up to 105 feet long, 34 feet tall, and as heavy as 20 bull African elephants. This enormous size and their coastal habitat have earned these behemoths a name that means "tidal giant." They are the largest animals ever to roam Africa and one of the largest land animals ever to live, only being outsized by a few of their cousins in South America.

Like Aegyptosaurus, Paralititans are four-legged with a long neck and small head. The necks of the larger titans vary in that they are much thicker and more muscular. They also lack the armored osteoderms of their smaller counterparts. Instead, their skin is a mosaic of bead-like scales surrounding much larger ones. This skin is also colored in a dark, steam blue with streaks of black along their backs.

These forested over banks are imbued with the sounds of both the Aegyptosaurus and Paralititans. Many of these sounds are a series of guttural groans, rumbles, booms, and creaks. Being the larger of the two, the sounds of the Paralititans are much deeper in pitch. Even their chewing is heard for tens of feet around them, including the cracks and snaps of the tree branches they strip with their mouths.

However, this buffet of trees is not without hazards. One smaller Aegyptosaurus finds this out the hard way with just a single, careless step. As its foot impacts the ground, a loud, growling bellow emits from below. The sauropod looks down to find the source of the sound.

Resting amongst the bed of greenery is a Stomatosuchus. Its appearance is very similar in shape to modern crocodiles and alligators, but it's only distantly related. The most visible difference is its head which is like an alligator's but much longer and flatter. Only its lid-like top jaw has teeth that are small and conical. The bottom jaw is completely toothless with a pelican-esque pouch hanging from it. Its scaly skin is primarily a grayish, sage green with a lighter gray underbelly.

At over 33 feet long, this female is much bigger than any modern crocodilian. Despite still being larger than the Stomatosuchus, the Aegyptosaurus wanders away, letting it be. With the large sauropod out of the way, the odd croc is free to make her way further into the swamp.