Giant Lizard Named for Jim Morrison Tells Tale of Climate Change

: by Ben Brumfield; on June 05, 2013

When paleontologist Jason Head discovered "Bearded King Morrison," he had been listening to The Doors on an "endless loop."

CNN — To get through the long, tedious hours sitting in the fossil archives at the University of California-Berkeley, Jason Head would listen to the hypnotic sounds of The Doors.

So when he happened upon one of the biggest lizards that ever walked on land, he found it fitting to name it after the band’s frontman, Jim Morrison – the original Lizard King.

But that’s not what makes this find interesting. It’s what the existence of the “Bearded King Morrison” tells us about the effects of climate change that’s intriguing.