A promotional photo of the Kermitops skull next to the Smithsonian's Kermit the Frog puppet.
Kermitops gratus is an extinct species of proto-amphibian from the Permian period discovered in Texas by Smithsonian Institute paleontologist Nicholas Hotton III in 1984 before being scientifically described in 2024 by Calvin So and Arjan Mann.
Kermitops is known through a 270 million year old fossil skull that was classified as a new genus of temnospondyl, a primitive group of amphibian relatives. The skull's wide-eyed face inspired the decision to name the species after Kermit the Frog, with "-ops" being a Greek suffix for "face." The specific epithet "gratus" represents the gratitude the researchers had for Hotton and his original team.
Popular Science published a statement from Kermit in response: "When the Smithsonian team approached me asking to name a newly-discovered amphibian species after me, I was truly honored… and a little puzzled. I don’t quite see the resemblance, but Miss Piggy and the other Muppets assured me it’s uncanny! Wait ‘til I tell my family in the swamp about our new great-great-great-great-great aunt or uncle–although we never got any gifts from them, so maybe they’re not that great."
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- Calvin So, Jason D Pardo, Arjan Mann, A new amphibamiform from the Early Permian of Texas elucidates patterns of cranial diversity among terrestrial amphibamiforms, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2024;, zlae012, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae012
- Basias, Laura. "New proto-amphibian species named after Kermit the Frog", Popular Science, 21 March 2024. https://www.popsci.com/science/proto-amphibian-kermit-the-frog/