Kermit the Frog has been around since 1955 – but a new Kermit on the block was actually around much longer ago.
Scientists have uncovered a fossil of an ancient 270-million-year-old amphibian ancestor, and named it after him.
Officially called Kermitops gratus, it earned the name due to its resemblance to The Muppet Show star.
The prehistoric creatures are thought of as one of the first true amphibians, representing a key step in evolution when life went from water to land, The Guardian reported.
Although discovered four decades ago, the specimen remained unexamined in the National Museum of Natural History's fossil collection.
It was only recently scientists took a deeper look.
George Washington University student Calvin So said using Kermit as a name has "significant implications" in bridging gaps between the science done by palaeontologists and the general public.
"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," he said.
The fossil was first looked at in 2021 by Arjan Mann, who called it a "really well preserved, mostly prepared skull".
When scientists analysed it, they described it as having a "mishmash of traits", which were unique compared to features seen in older tetrapods.
According to The Guardian, amphibians and their ancestors have a sparse early record, which makes it hard to understand how salamanders, frogs and their wider family came to be.
But this latest deep dive is a major piece in the wider puzzle.
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