Paleontologists from the United States and Egypt have described a new species of anthracothere that lived in Africa during Miocene, 19 million years ago, and named it after Sir Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones frontman, in honor of a trait they both share – their supersized lips.
Anthracotherium magnum, a species of anthracothere from Oligocene of Europe. Image credit: Dmitry Bogdanov / CC BY 3.0.
The prehistoric animal, Jaggermeryx naida (means Jagger’s water nymph), belonged to Anthracotheriidae, a family of extinct hoofed animals related to hippopotamuses and whales.
The team headed by Dr Safiya Hassan of Cairo University discovered several fossilized jaw fragments belonging to the animal at the early Miocene site of Wadi Moghra in the Egyptian desert.
The fossils suggest it was the size of a regular deer and could be described as a cross between a long-legged pig and a slender hippo.
Geological data, combined with the fossils of Jaggermeryx naida, catfish, turtles, waterbirds and five other anthracothere species found at Wadi Moghra, suggest that millions of years ago the area was an estuary characterized by marsh and swamps.
Fossilized jaw of Jaggermeryx naida in lateral, medial, and occlusal views. Scale bar – 10 cm. Image credit: Ellen R. Miller et al.
“We imagine Jaggermeryx naida’s lifestyle was like that of a water deer, standing in water and foraging for plants along the river bank,” explained Dr Ellen Miller of Wake Forest University, a team member and the lead author of a paper published in the Journal of Paleontology.
The animal was further distinguished from other anthracotheres by a series of eight holes on either side of its jaw that held nerves, giving it a supersensitive lower lip and snout. That would have helped it forage for plant foods along riverbanks.
“Some of my colleagues suggested naming the new species after Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, because she also has famous lips,” Dr Miller said.
“But for me it had to be Mick.”
The Jaggermeryx naida fossils now reside in collections at Duke University, the Cairo Geological Museum and Cairo University.
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Ellen R. Miller et al. 2014. Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, early Miocene, Egypt. Journal of Paleontology, vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 967-981
