Thoraciliacus

Thoraciliacus Temporal range: Lower-Upper Cretaceous, 130.0–66  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Clade:	Pipimorpha
Genus:	† Thoraciliacus Nevo, 1968 [1]
Species:	†T. rostriceps
Binomial name
†Thoraciliacus rostriceps Nevo, 1968

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. ^[2] A recent phylogenetic analysis confirmed this conclusion, and further suggested that Thoraciliacus rostriceps is more closely related to Pipidae and Shelaniinae than to Palaeobatrachus. ^[3] Fossils of T. rostriceps were found in Makhtesh Ramon, Negev Desert, Israel and it is believed they lived during the Barremian. ^[4] Other fossils have been found near Marydale, South Africa in an Upper Cretaceous lake. ^{[4] [5]}

Description

Thoraciliacus rostriceps was a small frog, 32 millimetres (1.3 in) in length, with a large head. It had short hind limbs but its hands and feet were relatively large. ^[6] Like its close relative Nevobatrachus gracilis , T. rostriceps was highly aquatic evidenced by its flat skull, short axial column and long metapodials. ^[7]

See also

• List of prehistoric amphibians

References

1. "The Paleobiology Database" . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
2. Cannatella, David (2011-01-08). "The Tree of Life Web Project - Anura" . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
3. Lemierre, Alfred; Bailon, Salvador; Folie, Annelise; Laurin, Michel (January 2023). "A new pipid from the Cretaceous of Africa (In Becetèn, Niger) and early evolution of the Pipidae" . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21 (1). doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2266428. ISSN   1477-2019.
4. Robert L. Carroll; Harold Heatwole, Amphibian Biology: The Evolutionary History of Amphibians (PDF), vol. 4, Surrey Beatty & Sons, p. 17, retrieved 2009-09-25
5. Anderson, Eric (May 1998), A Late Cretaceous (Maaastrichtian) Galaxiid Fish From South Africa, Grahamstown, South Africa: Bioline International, retrieved 2009-09-28
6. Trueb, Linda (June 1999). "The Early Cretaceous Pipoid Anuran, Thoraciliacus: Redescription, Revaluation, and Taxonomic Status". Herpetologica. 55 (2). Herpetologists' League: 139–157. JSTOR   3893074.
7. 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 . 26 (1). The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: 44–59. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[44:ROTECC]2.0.CO;2.