Sauroniops Pachytholus: T. Rex-Like Dinosaur Species Named For 'Lord Of The Rings' Villain
The Huffington Post | By Meredith Bennett-Smith
Posted: 11/08/2012 7:51 am EST Updated: 11/09/2012 12:59 pm EST



Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a meat-eating dinosaur—as big as a Tyrannosaurus rex—that roamed North Africa 95 million years ago.

But this predator isn't notable just for its singular size—it's also got unusual name to match. In a paper published October 27 in Cretaceous Research, its discoverers have dubbed it Sauroniops pachytholus as an homage to the "Lord of the Rings" villain Sauron, National Geographic reports.

Why that particular villain? It all has to do with a fossilized eye socket.

"The idea of a predator that is physically known only as its fierce eye reminded me of Sauron, in particular as depicted in Peter Jackson's movies," the paper's lead author Andrea Cau, of the Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini in Bologna, Italy, told National Geographic.