Giant Lizard Named After Jim Morrison 'The Lizard King'
Paleontologists have uncovered an extinct 6-foot reptile that they are naming after musician and frontman of the Doors, Jim Morrison. Morrison's nickname was "The Lizard King."
Barbaturex morrisoni, or the Bearded King Morrison supposedly lived during the Paleocene greenhouse era. This was part of the Eocene epoch, between 36 and 40 million years ago.
This giant, newly-discovered lizard co-habitated with large carnivorous mammals. However, most lizards are much smaller than mammals. During the newly-uncovered lizard's time, it was much larger than anything around it and had no predators, reports Fox News.
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Scientists say the lizard got to it's large size because of the elevated global temperatures at the time. Believed to be 6-feet long and at least 60 pounds, it only ate plants.
"The large size of the Lizard King certainly protected it from many predators. But there is no doubt that it was hunted by mammalian carnivores of the day," said Jason Head of the University of Nebraska according to UPI.
He also believes the large size came from the hyperactivity of the reptile because of the high temperatures. Reptiles are cold blooded animals so when the temperature rises, so does the blood, making them more active.
"We're changing the atmosphere so fast that the rate of climate change is probably faster than most biological systems can adapt to. So instead of seeing the growth and spread of giant reptiles, what you might see is extinction," he said, regarding why cold blooded animals are not getting bigger now.
Naming the lizard Jim Morrison was natural to Head because he said he was listening to a lot of The Doors during research.
"Some of their musical imagery includes reptiles and ancient places, and Jim Morrison was of course 'The Lizard King,' so it all kind of came together," he said in a release.
The fossils were discovered in the 70s, but went unanalyzed for 30 years until Head decided to study them with his team.
