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Ancient Reptile Named After 'Lizard King' Jim Morrison

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Linda Wertheimer.

The Doors' front man, Jim Morrison, was nicknamed The Lizard King. This week researchers from the University of Iowa identified a new species of reptilian royalty, the six-foot long Barbaturex morrisoni. Though the species is named after the 20th century rock star, it lived in the jungles of Southeast Asia 40 million years ago, a gentle creature who ate only plants.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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