Creature named after Kermit the Frog offers clues on amphibian evolution, scientists say

There definitely were no muppets during the Permian Period, but there was a Kermit - or at least a forerunner of modern amphibians that has been named after the celebrity frog.

Scientists on Thursday described the fossilized skull of a creature called Kermitops gratus that lived in what is now Texas about 270 million years ago. It belongs to a lineage believed to have given rise to the three living branches of amphibians - frogs, salamanders and limbless caecilians.

While only the skull - measuring around 1.2 inches long - was discovered, the researchers think Kermitops had a stoutly built salamander-like body roughly 6-7 inches long, though salamanders would not evolve for another roughly 100 million years.

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