Calvin So and Arjan Mann with Kermitops. (IMAGE)
Caption
Calvin So (left), a doctoral student at George Washington University, and Arjan Mann (right), a Smithsonian postdoctoral paleontologist and former Peter Buck Fellow, with the fossil skull of Kermitops in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History fossil collection.
“Using the name Kermit has significant implications for how we can bridge the science that is done by paleontologists in museums to the general public,” So said. “Because this animal is a distant relative of today’s amphibians, and Kermit is a modern-day amphibian icon, it was the perfect name for it.”
“This is an active area of research that a lot more paleontologists need to dive back into,” Mann said. “Paleontology is always more than just dinosaurs, and there are lots of cool evolutionary stories and mysteries still waiting to be answered. We just need to keep looking.”
Note: USNM PAL 407585, Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution.
Credit
Phillip R. Lee.
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