Nevobatrachus

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Nevobatrachus
Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous, 125.0–112.0  Ma
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Genus: Nevobatrachus
Mahony, 2019
Species:
N. gracilis
Binomial name
Nevobatrachus gracilis
(Nevo, 1968)

Nevobatrachus gracilis is the only [1] 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. [2] 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. [3]

Contents

When first described by Eviatar Nevo of the University of Haifa [4] (in 1968) the genus Cordicephalus was thought to contain two species, C. gracilis and C. longicostatus. [5] Since then it was redescribed and it was determined that N. gracilis was the only species in the genus. [1]

Etymology

The original genus' name derives from the Latin cordi (cor meaning heart) and cephalus (meaning head). The name comes from the heart-like shape of its skull. The species name, gracilis, comes from the Latin for slender. [6] The replacement generic name is derived from the surname of Eviatar Nevo and from batrachus, a Greek word for a frog. [2]

Description

Like its close relatives, N. gracilis was fairly small, about 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in length. It had a flat skull which was almost as wide as it was long, features usually found in aquatic animals. Other features that support that view that N. gracilis had a mainly aquatic lifestyle is its short axial column as well as large foot bones which may imply extensive webbing. [1]

Taxonomy

Nevobatrachus is considered to be a member of the clade Pipimorpha, related to the living family Pipidae. [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Trueb, Linda; Ana María Báez (March 2006). "Revision of the Early Cretaceous Cordicephalus from Israel and an assessment of its relationships among pipoid frogs" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (1): 44–59. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[44:ROTECC]2.0.CO;2.
  2. 1 2 3 Stephen Mahony (2019). "Cordicephalus Nevo, 1968 (Amphibia, Anura, Pipimorpha), is a junior homonym of Cordicephalus Wardle, 1947 (Rhabditophora, Cestoda, Diphyllobothriidae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (2): e1593186. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1593186.
  3. "The Paleobiology Database" . Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  4. "Eviatar Nevo: List of Publications" (PDF). University of Haifa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  5. Robert L. Carroll; Harold Heatwole, Amphibian Biology: The Evolutionary History of Amphibians (PDF), vol. 4, Surrey Beatty & Sons, p. 17, retrieved 2009-09-25
  6. Nevo, Eviatar (1968). "Pipid frogs from the Early Cretaceous of Israel and pipid evolution". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Harvard University. 136 (8): 255–318.