Paleontologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History have discovered a new type of prehistoric amphibian species. It is a 270 year old amphibian with big eyes and smiling face. This is Kermitops gratus after Kermit, the famous frog.

This surprising discovery occurred when they analyzed an ignored small fossil skull kept among others in the Smithsonian Fossils Department for more than forty years. The paper was released on Thursday in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Kermitops lived before dinosaurs and inhabited what is now known as the lower Clear Fork Formation in Texas at some point between 298. 9-272. Three million years ago, during the Early Permian Epoch. Its cranial remains measure approximately 2. 5 centimeters (a little over one inch) long and bear elliptical orbits as well as a gurning non-straight mouth like those found on many Muppets.

The researchers think that finding Kermitops may be important for understanding how certain features develop in frogs and salamanders, such as those that make each kind unique. In their publication, the authors claimed that this study contradicts previous ones and emphasizes again that we should analyze more and more old organisms to improve evolutionary theories.

In 1984, Nicholas Hotton III found the first Kermitops fossil. A famous museum paleontologist called Nicholas Hotton III discovered the initial fossil of Kermitops in 1984. This renowned museum paleontologist found the Kermitops fossil at the Red Beds in Texas, which is a rich deposit for Permian fossils, including reptiles, amphibians, and synapsids (ancestors of mammals). Many specimens were left unstudied because a lot of them were obtained at the locality, among which was Kermitops. The analysis was started being done on its skull by Calvin So up in the year 2021; he is a Ph.D. student from George Washington University who intends to use it in his doctorate work.

Even though it is not a frog variety, some characteristics of Kermitops resemble those in contemporary frogs and salamanders or caecilians. They identified that the individual belongs to temnospondyls, which are thought to be the forerunners of lissamphibians. One interesting fact about Kermitops: its eardrum hole is just like that one in frogs’ and toads’ anatomy; there are also some specialized bicuspid teeth present in this kind of amphibian species that can be found in most today’s amphibians.

This shows how difficult it can be to protect tiny fossils, as evidenced by the discovery of Kermitops. The fragmentary nature of the fossil record of lissamphibians like Kermitops arises because they are too small and have fragile skeletons. Because of this, their fossils are very rare and difficult to keep track of. Analyzing such creatures as Kermitops that lived in the past and were very small, just like other little creatures today may enable us to understand better why certain animals have become so small today.

The scientists involved in the research wanted people to see that even very small fossils are important and can be recognized for what was found from them in looking at old bones kept by museums. They wanted the name Kermitops to bring out the importance of some paleontological findings that have been associated with analyzing various types of ancient remains kept in museums.

With every advancement made in our knowledge about the past eras, such as Kermitops, we weave more complexities into the history of the planet and reshape our understanding about evolution. Kermitops gratus is a reminder of how amazing life has looked then and now in all shapes and sizes even when considering extinct amphibians.