Famous Personalities - Section 3 Question 1 – answer, explanation & discussion

A team of scientists unveiled an extinct, sea-dwelling crocodile from the Jurassic period on Wednesday, which they named in honour of Motorhead lead singer Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister who died in 2015.

Lemmysuchus was about 5.8 metres long and had a skull longer than a metre - similar to a modern-day saltwater crocodile to which it is only distantly related.

It would have been one of the largest coastal predators of its time. The teeth were large and blunt, perfect for crushing prey such as turtles.

Lemmy’s croc was dug up at Peterborough in England in the early 20th century.

But it was recently re-examined and found to have been incorrectly lumped with other sea crocodiles from the area.

Lemmysuchus obtusidens lived around 164 million years ago and was a member of an extinct group of marine crocodile relatives called teleosaurs.

Given that it belonged to a unique group, the creature “needed a new scientific name,” said the statement.

Lemmy died in December 2015 at the age of 70 in Los Angeles.

He formed Motorhead, a metal band, in 1975.