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'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed
by BBC
Thanks to Rob Harrand for the link.
Reposted from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7251666.stm
A 70-million-year-old fossil of a giant frog has been unearthed in Madagascar by a team of UK and US scientists.
Artist's impression of the "frog from hell"
The creature would have been the size of a "squashed beach ball" and weighed about 4kg (9lb), the researchers said.
They added that the fossil, nicknamed Beelzebufo or "frog from hell", was "strikingly different" from present-day frogs found on the island nation.
Details of the discovery are reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The team from University College London (UCL) and Stony Brook University, New York, said the frog would have had a body length of about 40cm (16 inches), and was among the largest of its kind to be found.
"This frog, a relative of today's horned toads, would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach-ball, with short legs and a big mouth," explained co-author Susan Evans, from UCL's Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.
"If it shared the aggressive temperament and 'sit-and-wait' ambush tactics of [present-day] horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals.
"Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but it's not impossible that Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs."
The researchers added that the discovery of the fossil supported the theory that Madagascar and the Indian and South American land masses could have been linked until the Late Cretaceous Period (75-65 million years ago).
"Our discovery of a frog strikingly different from today's Madagascan frogs, and akin to the horned toads previously considered endemic to South America, lends weight to the controversial model," Professor Evans explained.
Reposted from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7251666.stm
A 70-million-year-old fossil of a giant frog has been unearthed in Madagascar by a team of UK and US scientists.
Artist's impression of the "frog from hell"
The creature would have been the size of a "squashed beach ball" and weighed about 4kg (9lb), the researchers said.
They added that the fossil, nicknamed Beelzebufo or "frog from hell", was "strikingly different" from present-day frogs found on the island nation.
Details of the discovery are reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The team from University College London (UCL) and Stony Brook University, New York, said the frog would have had a body length of about 40cm (16 inches), and was among the largest of its kind to be found.
"This frog, a relative of today's horned toads, would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach-ball, with short legs and a big mouth," explained co-author Susan Evans, from UCL's Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.
"If it shared the aggressive temperament and 'sit-and-wait' ambush tactics of [present-day] horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals.
"Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but it's not impossible that Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs."
The researchers added that the discovery of the fossil supported the theory that Madagascar and the Indian and South American land masses could have been linked until the Late Cretaceous Period (75-65 million years ago).
"Our discovery of a frog strikingly different from today's Madagascan frogs, and akin to the horned toads previously considered endemic to South America, lends weight to the controversial model," Professor Evans explained.
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Posted: Monday, February 18, 2008 | PermalinkComments 1 - 27 of 27 |
Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers2. Comment #129225 by Phasic on February 18, 2008 at 9:59 pm
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD Other Comments by Phasic
4. Comment #129244 by pkruger on February 18, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Now if this giant frog had approached an intersection with no stop signs, and was on a collision course with a truck loaded with turkeys...Oh never mind.
Other Comments by pkruger
5. Comment #129247 by Radesq on February 18, 2008 at 10:39 pm
In the words of Yosemite Sam -- Great Horny Toads! And also to paraphrase the recently passed Roy Scheider "Noah, I think you're going to need a bigger boat." Other Comments by Radesq
6. Comment #129249 by sarah95 on February 18, 2008 at 10:54 pm
"If it shared the aggressive temperament and 'sit-and-wait' ambush tactics of [present-day] horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals.
"Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but it's not impossible that Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs."
I bet that toad was so badass, that if he were alive today, he'd eat creationists for lunch and employ "sit-and-wait ambush tactics" in getting any survivors to sit through a Richard Dawkins lecture.
Other Comments by sarah95
7. Comment #129251 by Roy_H on February 18, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Big enough to feed a French family of four no doubt.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebufo
It lived 70 million years ago then it finally croaked......
Other Comments by Roy_H
8. Comment #129295 by Mitchell Gilks on February 19, 2008 at 1:10 am
Awesome big frog. This makes three, would I would consider, major discoveries in recently days. The astonomy one about the amount of terrestrial planets in the galaxy. A biology one about bats, and how flight predates sonar, and now a geography one. This is all so fantastic, as I said on the bat one. Science like 6 gazillion, religion zero. Other Comments by Mitchell Gilks
9. Comment #129301 by epsilondelta on February 19, 2008 at 1:14 am
"Science like 6 gazillion, religion zero."What he said.
Other Comments by epsilondelta
10. Comment #129320 by Justanotheratheist on February 19, 2008 at 1:30 am
Mmm..I wonder on which of the six days god thought up this beauty.Oh no, wait. He didn't. He just put the fossil there to test our faith, like a gadzillion other fossils. Yes, that's it. Just in case T Rex etc etc etc wasn't enough to lead us astray from the path of creationism, let's slip in a jumbo sized hopper as well.
He sure does have a pesky sense of humour, this god fellow. Or there again, perhaps he had f**ckall to do with it?
Other Comments by Justanotheratheist
11. Comment #129321 by Adam Morrison on February 19, 2008 at 1:31 am
Arrrgh!
Roy you beat me to the French jokes!
Other Comments by Adam Morrison
12. Comment #129340 by HunterZolomon on February 19, 2008 at 1:48 am
"Your mind powers will not work on me boy!" Other Comments by HunterZolomon
13. Comment #129341 by Justanotheratheist on February 19, 2008 at 1:53 am
Seriously, now. Isn't it wonderful how we continue to learn new and unexpected things about the world/universe that we live in?How stifling it must be to ignore all this wonder and cling pathetically to the fairy stories found in a ridiculous book.
Oh well, that's their loss.
Other Comments by Justanotheratheist
14. Comment #129347 by njwong on February 19, 2008 at 2:15 am
It is curious why we like to nickname a larger-than-normal animal a creature "from Hell". Why not name it a creature "from Heaven"? Or to be truly agnostic, "Frogzilla" :-)Anyway, there is a YouTube video about a "giant" toad caught in Darwin Australia. It is only 1 kg and 38 cm long though, so it is not as big as the Beelzebufo, but boy, are both of them ugly :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zwh7wX5jMk
Other Comments by njwong
15. Comment #129372 by clatz on February 19, 2008 at 3:15 am
Imagine what sort of prince he would have turned into!
Sorry.
:-)
Other Comments by clatz
16. Comment #129406 by DoctorE on February 19, 2008 at 4:16 am
Creationist are pissed because if god created us in his image then god is like..... well you know, we evolved but god can't as he was perfect already.
Can a perfect being create unperfect world, i dont think so
Other Comments by DoctorE
17. Comment #129417 by toddaa on February 19, 2008 at 5:04 am
The name they chose for this creature is just more proof that scientists are all in league with Satan.Other Comments by toddaa
18. Comment #129461 by sanebuzz on February 19, 2008 at 7:00 am
Damn right toddaamiserable swine with their anti matter medical scanning devices and their cures for cancer.
Selfish secretive pigdogs!
Other Comments by sanebuzz
19. Comment #129476 by bluebird on February 19, 2008 at 7:26 am
Wow, don't goad this toad!
Fascinating discovery from the fascinating eco-system that is Madagascar.
Recently in our area, a cousin of the chorus frog was discovered... the tiny Cajun chorus frog, pseudacris fouquettei.
Listening to a frog chorus is not only soothing, it's a sure sign of a healthy environment.
Other Comments by bluebird
20. Comment #129491 by He'sAVeryNaughtyBoy on February 19, 2008 at 7:51 am
Cool, and I just watched the Life in Cold Blood episode with all the frogs in last night (iplayer).Other Comments by He'sAVeryNaughtyBoy
21. Comment #129590 by Quetzalcoatl on February 19, 2008 at 10:54 am
Sarah95-
I bet that toad was so badass, that if he were alive today, he'd eat creationists for lunch
Come on, Sarah. Even toads have taste! :)
Phasic-
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD
You beat me to it!
Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl
22. Comment #129641 by liberalartist on February 19, 2008 at 12:01 pm
If I didn't hang out on this website from time to time, I would miss out on all this cool science stuff. Other Comments by liberalartist
23. Comment #129916 by HappyPrimate on February 19, 2008 at 6:39 pm
A frog with teeth. Now that is awesome. Other Comments by HappyPrimate
24. Comment #129968 by dragonfirematrix on February 19, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I guess ONE GIANT RIBBIT is in order. Imagine the size of the fly.Welcome to evolution.
Other Comments by dragonfirematrix
25. Comment #130027 by Goodwithwood on February 19, 2008 at 11:42 pm
"Kermie" Other Comments by Goodwithwood
26. Comment #130221 by logical on February 20, 2008 at 7:20 am
Can I have this drawing as avatar?Or an animation with Beelzebufo eating one or several faithheads, the way the T-Rex in "Jurassic Park" ate the lawyer with his pants down?
(Sorry, I know that most faithheads are heavier than 4 kilograms, but under speciesist law I am not allowed to make use of them myself)
Other Comments by logical
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1. Comment #129191 by SamKiddoGordon on February 18, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Richard could use this guy to get rid of a few fleas.Other Comments by SamKiddoGordon