Giant lizard named after legendary rockstar Jim Morrison

Around 1.80m (six feet) from snout to tail and tipping the scales at up to 27 kilos (60 pounds), the plant-eating reptile is one of the biggest-known lizards ever to have lived on land.

It competed with mammals for food in the humid tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

A fossil of the beast, found in sediment in Sagaing district in Myanmar, has been dated to the late-middle Eocene period, when Earth was so hot there was no ice at its poles.

"We think the warm climate during that period of time allowed the evolution of a large body size and the ability of plant-eating lizards to successfully compete in mammal faunas," said Jason Head of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln who led the analysis.

The palaeontologists have named the long-extinct species Barbaturex morrisoni.

"Barbaturex" means "bearded king," after the team found ridges on the underside of the jaw that give lizards a beard-like appearance. "Morrisoni" is in tribute to Doors frontman Morrison, famed for his fascination with reptiles and shamanism.

"I was listening to The Doors quite a bit during research," said Head.

"Some of their musical imagery includes reptiles and ancient places, and Jim Morrison was of course the Lizard King, so it kind of came together."