IN life he was big, ugly and full of attitude – no wonder scientists chose to name the ferocious Jurassic crocodile after Lemmy.
Like the hell-raising Motorhead frontman who died in 2015, the 19ft (5.8m) long beast dubbed Lemmysuchus was no stranger to trouble.
The monster that terrorised coastal waters around the UK more than 145 million years ago had a skull measuring just over a metre and large, blunt teeth perfect for crushing bones and turtle shells.
A fossil skeleton of one of the creatures was dug up in a clay pit near Peterborough in 1909 and then housed at London’s Natural History Museum.
After conducting a recent study of the specimen, University of Edinburgh palaeontologist Michela Johnson realised it had been wrongly classified and needed a new scientific name.
The suggestion to honour heavy metal bass player Lemmy came from Natural History Museum curator and Motorhead fan Lorna Steel.
She said: “Although Lemmy passed away at the end of 2015, we’d like to think that he would have raised a glass to Lemmysuchus, one of the nastiest sea creatures to have ever inhabited the Earth. “As a long-standing Motorhead fan I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to immortalise the rock star in this way.”
Lemmysuchus belonged to an extinct group of reptiles called teleosaurs, which were distantly related to today’s crocodiles.
It would have been one of the largest coastal predators of its time.
Johnson, a PhD student, said: “It can be difficult to identify new species as we are normally working with incomplete fossil skeletons.
“Following careful anatomical comparison, and by referring to the main specimen held at the Natural History Museum, we could see that most of the previous finds were actually from relatives of Lemmysuchus rather than the species itself, and we were able to assign a new name.”
The new description of Lemmysuchus translates as “Lemmy’s crocodile”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here