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Ancient swamp pig named after Mick Jagger for its luscious lips

The Columbian
Published: September 10, 2014, 5:00pm

Sir Mick of the Rolling Stones has had a special honor bestowed on him by scientists — a newly discovered species has been named for him. Or, more accurately, for his lips.

Jaggermeryx naida translates to “Jagger’s water nymph,” and it lived around 19 million years ago in Africa. It was found in the Egyptian desert, but in its day the area would have been swampy — other fossils nearby included catfish, turtles and waterbirds.

The fossil’s jaw, Wake Forest University paleoanthroplogist Ellen Miller said in a statement, had eight holes on either side. These probably held nerves, giving the creature a sensitive lip that it would use to forage for food. In other words, it had big, flappy lips that it used to snuffle all over the riverbank.

The Jaggermeryx naida was probably about the size of a modern deer. According to Miller and colleagues, it was something like a cross between a skinny hippo and a leggy pig.

That doesn’t sound like the most majestic beast to take on as your namesake, but Jagger is in good company: Researchers often use celebrities as inspiration when they name newly discovered creatures. Jagger even had some competition for the honor.

“Some of my colleagues suggested naming the new species after Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, because she also has famous lips,” Miller said in a statement. “But for me it had to be Mick.”

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