AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — Researchers at The University of Texas Austin have named a newly identified ancient beaver species after Buc-ee's – a chain of Texas-based convenience stores known for its cartoon beaver mascot.

The ancient beaver, called Anchitheriomys buceei or "A. buceei" for short, lived in Texas around 15 million years ago and was approximately 30% larger than modern beavers.

A graphic comparing the size of Anchitheriomys buceei with an average North American Beaver and an average man in the United States. (Photo Credit: UT Austin / Jackson School of Geosciences / National Center for Health Statistics / USDA)

The name was inspired by a Buc-ee's billboard that research associate Steve May saw while driving, which read "This is Beaver Country."

May, lead author of the study published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica, commented, "Yeah, it is beaver country, and it has been for millions of years."

Matthew Brown (left) and Steven May with beaver skulls new and old in the vertebrate paleontology collections at the Jackson School of Geosciences. (Photo Credit: UT Austin / Jackson School of Geosciences)

The ancient beaver's partial skull was discovered by Texas paleontologists in 1941, and high-resolution X-ray images helped confirm it as a new species.

Buc-ee's founder and CEO, Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, remarked, "Buc-ee's was founded in 1982, but we may need to rethink our beginnings."