[Rockhounds] Kermit the Frog honoured in new fossil find

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Scientists found the fossilized skull in a collection at the Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History.

They say it's a new species of proto-amphibian and have named it *Kermitops
gratus* because it bears a likeness to the iconic Muppet.

The much-loved, but famously shy frog would doubtless blush at the
attention.

The researchers said the fossil was part of a group of relatives of
amphibians that lived for more than 200 million years, but was totally
unique.

There were a lot of features that were different from those in older
tetrapods, amphibians' ancient ancestors.

For example, the region of the skull behind the animal's eyes was much
shorter than its elongated, curved snout. Unique features like these led
scientists to conclude that it belonged to a new species.

'What really jumped out to us was how [the fossil looked] bug-eyed, and due
to slight crushing during the preservation it gave it kind of like a
lopsided, crooked smile, and it really evoked Kermit's smile," said Calvin
So, a doctoral student at George Washington University and lead author of
the study.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68575911