The jaguar image in Northern Jaguar Project's logo has a surprising source: in 1958, an archaeologist uncovered a small, carved conch shell pendant, or gorget, in a group of rock-and-earth mounds in Benton County, Missouri. Missouri is much further north than any location known to be part of the jaguar's former range, which once extended from Central and South America to southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. The image's identification as a jaguar is clear from the configuration of the body, the nature of the spots on the torso and underbelly, and the form of the head and ears. The protruding flower-like tongue represents communication and is referred to as a "speech scroll." Although the age and origin of the gorget are unconfirmed, it shares unmistakable parallels with important religious motifs seen throughout Mesoamerica, where the jaguar was a powerful symbol of the underworld and figured in countless Mayan glyphs. The University of Missouri has generously agreed to allow the Project to use the image as its logo.