Wednesday 5 June 2013

Because this is cool.....



Extinct lizard named after The Doors' singer Jim Morrison
By Melissa Hogenboom Science reporter, BBC News
A newly described 6ft lizard that roamed South East Asia from 36-40 million years ago has been named after The Doors singer Jim Morrison.The choice of name Barbaturex morrisoni is a play on the late frontman's epithet "The Lizard King".Higher temperatures at the time are thought to have helped the lizard evolve to its unusual size.The scientists were surprised to find that the reptile successfully competed for food against mammals.A team of palaeontologists analysed fossils of the giant reptile and discovered it is the largest plant-eating lizard to have ever existed.

No comments: