An ancient swamp-dwelling creature that lived 19 million years ago in Africa has been named after Mick Jagger because it probably had the lips like the iconic star.
Ellen Miller of Wake Forest University said that they have given it the scientific name 'Jaggermeryx naida,' which translates to 'Jagger's water nymph.'
The animal's fossilized jaw bones suggested it was roughly the size of a small deer and akin to a cross between a slender hippo and a long-legged pig. Researchers uncovered the fossils, consisting of multiple jawbone fragments, amid the sand dunes and eroded rock of a remote site in the Egyptian desert.
Gregg Gunnell, Duke University paleontologist, said that the animal probably had a highly innervated muzzle with mobile and tactile lips, thus the Jagger reference.
Miller further added that it might have used its sensitive snout to forage along river banks, scooping up plants with its lower teeth and large lips.
The Jaggermeryx fossils, which now reside in collections at Duke, the Cairo Geological Museum and Cairo University, were found alongside fossilized catfish, turtles, waterbirds and crocodile poop.
