The crocodile with eight heads

With the opening of a major new exhibition on mummified animals from ancient Egypt, curator Lidija McKnight celebrates the discovery of a crocodile with eight heads

Name: 12008
Species: Crocodylus niloticus
Dates: ~30 BC
Claim to fame: Contains the remains of eight crocs
Where now: Manchester Museum, the University of Manchester

I am in the radiology department at The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The patient lies motionless on the table. It is dead. It is an Egyptian mummy. It is not human. It is shaped like a crocodile.