Palaeobatrachus Temporal range: | |
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Fossil of Palaeobatrachus grandipes | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | † Palaeobatrachidae |
Genus: | † Palaeobatrachus Tschudi, 1839 |
Species | |
| |
Synonyms | |
Pliobatrachus |
Palaeobatrachus (meaning "ancient frog" in Greek) is an extinct genus of frogs from Europe that existed from the middle Eocene to the middle Pleistocene (Ionian Stage) (621-568,000 years ago), spanning almost 50 million years. They were obligately aquatic, and would have not spent much time on dry land. [1] 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. [2]
Palaeobatrachus had a relatively broad skull the shape of a Gothic arch. Its body was relatively large, ranging from 8 to 10 centimetres (3.1 to 3.9 in) in length, and the female was usually larger than the male (sexual dimorphism).
Palaeobatrachus was the first fossil frog to be described, [1] with the first species being P. diluvianus named by Goldfuss in 1831, originally as Rana diluviana from remains found in uppermost Oligocene strata near Bonn in Germany. It was later recognised as distinct and placed in the new separate genus Palaeobatrachus by Tschudi in 1839. [3]
The Eocene genus Albionbatrachus was considered a synonym of Palaeobatrachus by Wuttke et al. (2012), but Roček et al. (2015) retained it as a separate taxon. [4] [5] [6]
The nominal species Palaeobatrachus occidentalis was described from material found in the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene of western North America, [7] but Roček (2013) questioned its generic attribution. [8]
Its skeletal remains are plentiful in freshwater sediments in western Bohemia, in Geiseltal (west Germany) and in east Germany. They are sometimes preserved very well indeed, with impressions of internal organs, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and epidermis, and with traces of coloring. Tadpoles and eggs have also been found.
These frogs lived permanently in water. [1] Their bag-shaped lungs, on the dorsal side of their body, enabled them to remain submerged for long periods. They inhabited through-drainage basins or swamps where brown coal deposits were formed. Like the African clawed toad, they probably lived on small crustaceans, insect larvae and small fish and themselves provided sustenance for many other animals.
The climatic change at the beginning of the Pliocene was a real catastrophe for Palaeobatrachus, which required warmth, and, being specialized, was unable to adapt itself to the altered conditions. Water-rich and warm environments that existed in the area of the Netherlands, acting as a refugium for Palaeobatrachus, made it possible for one species (P. eurydices) to survive in western europe as recently as the early Pleistocene. [9] In addition a species persisted in southern Russia until the mid Pleistocene. [4]
Bombinatoridae is a family of toads found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic.
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Albanerpeton is an extinct genus of salamander-like albanerpetontid amphibian found in North America, Europe and Asia first appearing in Cretaceous-aged strata. There are eight described members of the genus, and one undiagnosed species from the Paskapoo Formation, making it by far the most speciose genus in the family. Members of the genus had a robust head and neck which likely allowed them to actively burrow, characteristic of fossorial species, and they lived in a wide range of environments. This genus of amphibian was the last of its order, surviving until into the Early Pleistocene (Gelasian) of northern Italy, and possibly northern Spain, until around 2 million years ago. It likely became extinct when the region developed its present Mediterranean-type climate, having preferred one that was cold and humid. The monophyly of Albanerpeton has recently been questioned, with some authors regarding the genus as paraphyletic.
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Eopelobates is an extinct genus of frogs in the family Pelobatidae. Closely related to the living European spadefoot toad, it is known from the Eocene of western North America, and the Eocene–Pliocene of Europe. It is suggested that the distribution over both Europe and North America is due to dispersal during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.
Albionbatrachus is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs from England and Romania. Two species are recognized: While previously synonymised with Palaeobatrachus, it is now considered a distinct palaeobatrachid genus based on characters of the frontoparietals.
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Palaeobatrachidae is an extinct family of frogs known from the Late Cretaceous to the Pleistocene primarily of Europe. They were highly adapted to aquatic life, like other members of the Pipimorpha. The oldest undoubted records of the family are from the lower Campanian of France. By far the most abundant genus is Palaeobatrachus, known from the Eocene to Pleistocene of Europe, with most other named genera in the family synonymised with it, the only exception being Albionbatrachus, which is distinguished from Palaeobatrachus by characters of its frontoparietals. The youngest fossils of Palaeobatrachus date to around 500,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene after which they likely became extinct due to increasing aridity and freezing temperatures during the ice ages. Fossils of indeterminate palaeobatrachids are also known from the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia.
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