This discovery should help scientists further investigate the ecosystems of ancient Africa and the evolution of many modern mammals.

Some 30 million years ago, during what's known as the Oligocene Epoch, a leopard-like hypercarnivore -- that is, an animal whose diet is at least 70 percent meat -- stalked the lush forest of Fayum, Egypt. Its impressive set of razor-sharp teeth ensured its position as the region's apex predator, and its evolutionary progeny eventually became some of the largest mammalian meat eaters to ever roam the planet.

But despite its place at the top of the food chain, paleontologists knew nothing about this ancient mammal -- until, that is, a nearly complete skull of one of these impressive predators was discovered. Back in its heyday, this animal likely stalked hyraxes, elephants, early hippopotamuses, and even humanity's own monkey-like ancestors.

A member of the extinct order of Hyaenodonta (which means "hyena teeth"), this fearsome meat-eater received the name Bastetodon syrtos -- an allusion to the Ancient Egyptian lion-headed goddess Bastet. Details about B. syrtos and its impact on understanding ancient African ecology were published earlier this week in the Journal of Invertebrate Paleontology.

Paleontologists located B. syrtos' football-sized skull in the Fayum Depression -- an area with a century-long paleontological history that, crucially, straddles a 15-million-year window including both the Eocene's global warming to the Oligocene's global cooling. Experts from the Mansoura University and the American University in Cairo actually almost missed the skull entirely, until an eagle-eyed team member glimpsed something surprising.

"For days, the team meticulously excavated layers of rock dating back around 30 million years," Shorouq Al-Ashqar, lead author of the study from Mansoura University, said in a press statement. "Just as we were about to conclude our work, a team member spotted something remarkable -- a set of large teeth sticking out of the ground. His excited shout brought the team together, marking the beginning of an extraordinary discovery: a nearly complete skull of an ancient apex carnivore, a dream for any vertebrate paleontologist."

Thanks to this discovery, the team was also able to re-analzye another member of the Hyaenodont genus, Sekhmetops (named for Sekhmet, another lion-headed goddess), which was originally discovered 120 years ago. Although it was originally thought to have a European origin, this study shows how both B. syrtos and Sekhmetops would have actually spread from Africa in multiple waves to nearly every continent on the globe.

Sadly, the good times didn't last, and specialized Hyaenodonts eventually declined in genetic diversity. They finally went extinct in the late Miocene and gave way to new top predators, including the ancient ancestors of modern cats.

"The discovery of Bastetodon is a significant achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of hyaenodonts and their global distribution," Shorouq said in a press statement. "We are eager to continue our research to unravel the intricate relationships between these ancient predators and their environments over time and across continents."