The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. There are 41 species in the family, found in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa.
Rebbachisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur of the superfamily Diplodocoidea, that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in Africa and possibly also South America about 99-97 million years ago. Remains attributed to Rebbachisaurus have been found in Morocco, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia and possibly also Argentina, although only the Moroccan remains can be referred to the genus without doubt. The discovery of Rayososaurus, a South American sauropod nearly identical to Rebbachisaurus which may have actually have been the same animal as Rebbachisaurus, supports the theory that there was still a land connection between Africa and South America during the Early Cretaceous, long after it was commonly thought the two continents had separated.
The Candeleros Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in the Río Negro, Neuquén, and Mendoza provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is the oldest formation in the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Rio Limay Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Candeleros Formation was known as the Candeleros Member.
Palaeobatrachus is an extinct genus of frogs from Europe that existed from the middle Eocene to the middle Pleistocene, spanning almost 50 million years. They were obligately aquatic, and would have not spent much time on dry land. They are one of two genera and by far the largest genus in the family Palaeobatrachidae, which are considered to be members of Pipimorpha, related to the South American-African family Pipidae, which includes the African clawed frog and Surinam toad.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2000.
The Allen Formation is a geological formation in Argentina whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. Indeterminate chelid remains and other vertebrates have also been discovered in this formation.
Saltenia is an extinct genus of frogs. It was assigned to the family Pipidae by R. L. Carroll in 1988 and again in 2005 by A. M. Báez and T. Harrison. The single described species, Saltenia ibanezi, is thought to have lived in South America in the Late Cretaceous.
Nevobatrachus gracilis is the only species in the extinct genus Nevobatrachus, a genus of prehistoric frogs. The original generic name of this frog was Cordicephalus Nevo (1968); however, this generic name turned out to be preoccupied by a cestode genus Cordicephalus Wardle, McLeod & Stewart (1947), which remains nomenclaturally available in spite of being considered a junior synonym of the diphyllobothriid genus Pyramicocephalus. Mahony (2019) coined a replacement name Nevobatrachus. Fossils of N. gracilis were found in a lacustrine deposit in Makhtesh Ramon called "Amphibian Hill" and it is believed they lived during the Lower Cretaceous.
Eodiscoglossus is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs. It is known from the type species E. santonjae from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) El Castellar Formation of Spain, as well as a referred species E. oxoniensis known from the Forest Marble Formation of the UK and an indeterminate species from the Dzunbain Formation of Mongolia. It was a small primitive frog, with a length of only 27 mm (1.1 in) from the premaxilla to the ischium. Formerly considered to be closely related to discoglossids, E. santonjae is now regarded as close to the root of the crown group of modern frogs in a position more derived than New Zealand frogs and tailed frogs, but more basal than costatans like alytids and other more advanced frogs like neobatrachians. The morphology of E. santonjae suggests a generalist and unspecialised movement habit. The referral of E. oxoniensis to Eodiscoglossus has been questioned, as it is much earlier than the type species and it is based on homoplasic and plesiomorphic characteristics inherited from a common ancestor, so there is no clear evidence of a close relation.
Liaobatrachus is a genus of prehistoric frog, the first fossil specimen of which was recovered from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. It was the first Mesozoic era frog ever found in China. The species Callobatrachus sanyanensis,Mesophryne beipiaoensis and Yizhoubatrachusmacilentus were classified as species of Liaobatrachus in one study, but this has been rejected by other authors. The genus has been considered a nomen dubium by some authors due to the poor preservation of the holotype specimen. Fossils were found in the Sihetun locality of the western part of Liaoning province, in the lower part of the Yixian Formation, and date to approximately 124.6 Ma. Another specimen was collected near Heitizigou, 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Beipiao. The specimen has a snout–vent length of 69 millimetres (2.7 in). Liaobatrachus is considered to be the most basal member of Discoglossidae based on phylogenetic analysis.
Vulcanobatrachus is an extinct genus of fossil frog. The genus contains the single species Vulcanobatrachus mandelai found at Marydale, South Africa, described in 2005 and named after Nelson Mandela. The genus owes its name to the fact that fossils were recovered from an extinct volcanic crater lake of Late Cretaceous age. The fossil frogs are assumed to have died following a limnic eruption (a degassing event possibly of CO2) by the volcano.
Pachycentrata is an extinct genus of prehistoric amphibian.
Shomronella jordanica is the only species in the extinct genus Shomronella, a genus of prehistoric frogs. According to findings from fossils of S. jordanica, that were found in Jordan and Israel, the frog lived during the Lower Cretaceous, specifically in the Hauterivian to Barremian.
Shelania is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs that lived in South America during the Eocene. Its type species is Shelania pascuali. Fossils of Shelania have been found in the Mustersan Vaca Mahuida and Laguna del Hunco Formations of Argentina. Shelania is the type taxon of the Shelaniinae, which was erected for an unranked clade that also includes the early anurans Saltenia, Kuruleufenia, and Patagopipa. A more recent phylogenetic analysis further suggested that Shelania is more closely related to Pipidae than to Palaeobatrachus, and that the second species previously attributed to Shelania is not sufficiently closely related to the type-species to be retained in Shelania.
Llankibatrachus is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs in the family Pipidae. They are known from the Ypresian (Casamayoran) Huitrera Formation of Argentina.
Singidella is an extinct genus of prehistoric frog from the Eocene of Tanzania. There is currently only one described species, S. latecostata. Its generic name is derived from Singida, the city near which the only known specimens were found, and the specific name translates as "wide ribs" from Latin. It is a member of the family Pipidae and is closely related to the extant African dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus) and Merlin's dwarf gray frog (Pseudohymenochirus) and the Cretaceous frog Pachycentrata of Niger. Adult individuals were estimated at 41-45 mm in length from snout to vent.
Thoraciliacus rostriceps is an extinct species of frog from the Cretaceous period and the only species of the genus Thoraciliacus, which is classified in the unranked clade Pipimorpha. Fossils of T. rostriceps were found in Makhtesh Ramon, Negev Desert, Israel and it is believed they lived during the Barremian. Other fossils have been found near Marydale, South Africa in an Upper Cretaceous lake.
Pipoidea are a clade of frogs, that contains the most recent common ancestor of living Pipidae and Rhinophrynidae as well as all its descendants. It is broadly equivalent to Xenoanura.
The Cañadón Asfalto Basin is an irregularly shaped sedimentary basin located in north-central Patagonia, Argentina. The basin stretches from and partly covers the North Patagonian Massif in the north, a high forming the boundary of the basin with the Neuquén Basin in the northwest, to the Cotricó High in the south, separating the basin from the Golfo San Jorge Basin. It is located in the southern part of Río Negro Province and northern part of Chubut Province. The eastern boundary of the basin is the North Patagonian Massif separating it from the offshore Valdés Basin and it is bound in the west by the Patagonian Andes, separating it from the small Ñirihuau Basin.
This list of fossil amphibians described in 2018 is a list of new taxa of fossil amphibians that were described during the year 2018, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to amphibian paleontology that occurred in 2018.
