In the summer of 1914, an Austrian fossil collector named Richard Markgraf uncovered the bones of a colossal dinosaur in Egypt’s Bahariya Oasis. Shipped to Munich, the fossil was carefully studied by Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach, who identified it as Carcharodontosaurus, or “shark-toothed lizard” in 1931. At over 32 feet long, this predator rivaled the famed Tyrannosaurus rex in both size and ferocity.

But fate had other plans for the skeleton. It was 1944, and Europe was brimming with war. During one Allied air raid in Munich, the Old Academy — home to Stromer’s collection — was reduced to ashes. For decades, all that remained of these fossils were Stromer’s notes, sketches, and a few photographs.

Then, nearly a century later, a serendipitous discovery in an archive would change everything.

Resurrected from the Past

During a research project, Maximilian Kellermann, a master’s student at LMU Munich, stumbled upon a set of forgotten photographs. These were Stromer’s images, which revealed the original skeleton. Portions of the skull, spine, and hind limbs were preserved in stunning detail before its fiery destruction. For paleontologists, it was as if a time capsule had cracked open.

“What we saw in the historical images surprised us all,” Kellermann explained. The team, which included Professor Oliver Rauhut and Dr. Elena Cuesta, scrutinized the photographs and made a major realization. The Egyptian dinosaur wasn’t Carcharodontosaurus after all. Instead, it represented an entirely new species, which they named Tameryraptor markgrafi.

The name honors both the ancient Egyptian term “Tamery,” meaning “beloved land,” and Markgraf, the collector who first unearthed the fossil more than one hundred years ago. The researchers believe the predator roamed Earth during the Cretaceous period, between 66 and 145 million years ago.

At an estimated 10 meters (32 feet) long, Tameryraptor markgrafi was a fearsome dinosaur. Its teeth were perfectly adapted for slicing through flesh. A nasal horn added an imposing flourish, making the creature as visually striking as it was deadly. Other differences — such as braincase proportions and a less expanded lacrimal contact — added to the evidence that this wasn’t the same beast roaming Morocco’s Kem Kem bed as Carcharodontosaurus.

This split means the Egyptian and Moroccan theropods were distant cousins rather than close relatives. According to the team, this undermines earlier assumptions about a uniform predator population across North Africa. Instead, it paints a picture of localized evolution shaped by distinct ecological pressures.

“Presumably, the dinosaur fauna of North Africa was much more diverse than we previously thought,” Rauhut noted.

Carcharodontosaurids were among the dominant predators of the mid-Cretaceous, rivaling the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex in size and ferocity. Their wide distribution across Gondwana makes them critical for understanding dinosaur ecosystems. But this new finding suggests they weren’t as cosmopolitan as previously thought.

Limits of the Lens

Of course, this study is severely limited in scope seeing how they couldn’t rely on studying the fossils directly. “Our findings are necessarily constrained by the absence of the original material,” the authors admit in their study. They note that details such as bone texture and certain anatomical features could not be examined directly. As they put it, “some of our interpretations rely on features that may not fully capture the specimen’s three-dimensional complexity.”

Despite these challenges, the scientists argue that their methodology, grounded in modern phylogenetic techniques, offers a robust framework. They incorporated a wealth of comparative data from related theropods and leaned on measurable, objective traits — such as the unique nasal morphology — to support their claims.

Yet the team remains cautiously optimistic. Their work aligns with broader patterns observed in other carcharodontosaurids and reflects the growing body of knowledge about theropod diversity in the Cretaceous. As they put it, “while our analysis is inherently limited, the evidence strongly supports the distinctiveness of this taxon.”

Fossils, once destroyed, can still offer clues, thanks to the foresight of scientists like Stromer and the dedication of modern researchers. But it also highlights how much remains unknown.

Even as the authors celebrate their findings, they are forthright about the work’s provisional nature. “Future discoveries,” they write, “may revise or even overturn our interpretations.” It’s a reminder that science thrives on revision.

The findings appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.