Ancient Fossil Named After Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me are a progressive metal band from North Carolina, but their name also sounds like an adage for paleontologists, who tirelessly work to unearth the mysteries of the ancient living past. Now, their two worlds have collided as a newly-discovered species of brittle star has been named after the group.
The brittle star (photo below), dubbed a "slender-armed cousin of the starfish" per a press release, was discovered in South Carolina by paleontologists Drs John Jagt, Lea Numberger-Thuy and Ben Thuy from the Natural History Museum in Luxembourg. It bears the name "Amphilimna intersepultosetme," which is the Latin translation of "between the buried and me," and lived 67 million years ago.
"We are honored to have been thought of alongside this little magical creature who swam in the waters of the Carolinas many years before us and we'll be linked together for many years to come," comments bassist Dan Briggs.
There's a history of fossils being named after rock and metal acts. In 2012, a marine worm was dubbed "Kingnites diamondi" in honor of King Diamond, a muscular fireworm was named after Henry Rollins in 2015 and in 2017 a gigantic worm with massive jaws was named after Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster. Moving away from ancient worms, a pre-historic crocodile was given the name Lemmysuchus after Motorhead legend Lemmy Kilmister last year.
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