14 DAY TRIAL // A recent paper in the Journal of Paleontology announces the discovery of a previously undocumented creature that walked the Earth about 19 million years ago and that researchers say sported a seriously oversized set of lips.
Hence, the newly discovered species is now known as Jaggermeryx naida. That's right, it's been named after Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, whose lips are also quite impressive.
Just have a closer look at the photo next to this article if you need confirmation.
According to specialist Ellen Miller with Wake Forest University in North Carolina, US, the creature's name translates as “Jagger's water nymph.”
Truth be told, the creature lived in swamps, so this name might be a bit of an idealization. Then again, one has to admit this moniker sounds way better than “Jagger's murky waters animal.”
What Jagger's water nymph looked like
Based on fossilized remains unearthed in the Egyptian desert in present-day Africa, paleontologists concluded that this ancient swamp creature was about the size of a small deer.
As far as its (not so good) looks are concerned, specialist Ellen Miller and fellow researchers say that it very much resembled the hypothetical love child of a slender hippopotamus and a pig with oddly long legs, EurekAlert informs.
The anatomical quirk that landed it the name Jaggermeryx naida was a highly innervated snout that researchers suspect helped the swam creature locate the plants that it used to feed on. This snout ended with huge lips that served to rip the plants.
“The animal probably had a highly innervated muzzle with mobile and tactile lips, thus the Jagger reference,” explains paleontologist Gregg Gunnell. “It may have used its sensitive snout to forage along river banks, scooping up plants with its lower teeth and large lips,” adds specialist Ellen Miller.
The creature's extended family
Evidence at hand indicates that Jaggermeryx naida was part of a family of hoofed animals known to the scientific community as anthracotheres. This family comprised several species, but this swamp creature appears to have been the only one to pack sensitive nerves on either side of its jaw.
These nerves, which were nestled inside teeny tiny holes, were in charge of making its chin and lower lip highly sensitive, thus allowing the creature to rely on touch when searching for food in the murky waters it inhabited.
In their paper in the Journal of Paleontology, Ellen Miller and fellow researchers detail that the same site which yielded the fossils that led to the discovery of this new species also revealed the remains of many ancient animals belonging to six anthracotheres species other than Jaggermeryx naida.
Mick Jagger was not the first choice
This piece of information might turn out to be a severe blow to the Rolling Stones frontman's ego, but it must be said that, at first, researchers considered naming this ancient swamp creature after Angelina Jolie. It was Ellen Miller who pushed for the musician's name, and Gregg Gunnell had her back.
“Some of my colleagues suggested naming the new species after Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, because she also has famous lips. But for me it had to be Mick,” paleontologist Ellen Miller explains. “I was a HUGE Rolling Stones fan in my day. ‘Exile on Main St.’ and ‘Let it Bleed’ were my favorite albums,” adds Mick Jagger fan Greg Gunnell.