Extinct Swamp Creature Named After Famous Musician

Thank scientists' clever vernacular for picking a famous English musician to name the fossil of an extinct pig-like swamp creature. Rock ‘n' roll star Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was honored by Ellen Miller, an associate professor of anthropology at Wake Forest University, when she gave the scientific name Jaggermeryx naida, or "Jagger's water nymph," to the fossil of a large-lipped animal that she and her colleagues discovered, according to NBC News.

"I like the Rolling Stones," Miller said, in a news release issued by Wake Forest. "I'm a huge Stones fan."

Researchers estimated that the deer-sized creature lived around 19 million years ago in Africa, and is described by many as a cross between a long-legged pig and a slender hippo, according to findings published in the Journal of Paleontology. 

"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."

This might sound rather out of the ordinary to name a random creature after a celebrity. However, rest-assured, it's been done before. Previous researchers have let celebrities inspire them for naming newly discovered creatures. In fact, according to the Washington Post, Mick Jagger was just one of the few celebrities that researchers were thinking about.

Sorry Jagger, but old habits die hard.