Beelzebufo
Encyclopedia
Beelzebufo ampinga was a particularly large species of prehistoric frog
first identified in 2007. Common names assigned by the popular media include "Devil Frog", "Devil Toad
", and "The Frog From Hell". Fossils of Beelzebufo have been recovered from strata of the Maevarano Formation
in Madagascar
, dating to the late Cretaceous Period
, some 70 million years ago.
name Beelzebufo is a portmanteau of Beelzebub
(a Semitic
deity sometimes identified as one of the chief lieutenants, or persona of the Christian
Devil
) and bufo
(Latin for "toad"). The specific
name ampinga means "shield" in the language of Malagasy
.
, which can be up to 32 centimetres (12.6 in). The bones of the skull roof
shows a rugous external surface, indicating that at least parts of the head may have borne scute
s.
Although the fossils of Beelzebufo appear in what is now Madagascar
, which, still attached to India, had split from the coast of Somalia in the earliest stage of the late Jurassic
, it superficially resembles its closest living relatives, the Ceratophryinae or horned toad
s of South America
, of which the largest today grow to 15 cm (6 in.) long. As West Gondwana (South America) rifted away from East Gondwana, opening from the north and spreading southward, open marine conditions in the widening South Atlantic obtained by about 110 mya, isolating the amphibians on either side; the last common ancestor of Beelzebufo and the South American ceratophryinae is most likely to have existed before that date and probably before seafloor-spreading demonstrates the earlier isolation of Madagascar-India, a very long time undocumented by fossils. Alternatively the history of archaeogeography could be rewritten: Richard Lane, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, said "The occurrence of this frog in Madagascar and its relatives' existence in South America provides strong evidence that the supercontinent Gondwana
'disassembled' during the latest part of the Cretaceous
."
, Beelzebufo was a predator whose expansive mouth allowed it to eat relatively large prey, perhaps even juvenile dinosaur
s. Beelzebufo was probably a dry-land frog, living in arid environments and ambushing prey.
fragments were found in 1993 by David W. Krause
of New York's
Stony Brook University, but it took 14 years for scientists Susan E. Evans
, Marc E. H. Jones, and Krause to assemble enough data for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
, the journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences
. Some 75 fossil fragments have been found. Researchers have been able to reconstruct parts of the frog's skeleton
, including nearly the entire skull.
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
first identified in 2007. Common names assigned by the popular media include "Devil Frog", "Devil Toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
", and "The Frog From Hell". Fossils of Beelzebufo have been recovered from strata of the Maevarano Formation
Maevarano Formation
The Maevarano Formation is an Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rock formation found in the Mahajanga Province of northwestern Madagascar. It is most likely Maastrichtian in age, and records a seasonal, semiarid environment with rivers that had greatly varying discharges...
in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, dating to the late Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, some 70 million years ago.
Etymology
The genericGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
name Beelzebufo is a portmanteau of Beelzebub
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...
(a Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
deity sometimes identified as one of the chief lieutenants, or persona of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
) and bufo
Bufo
Bufo is a large genus of about 150 species of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. Bufo is a Latin word for toad.- Description :...
(Latin for "toad"). The specific
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
name ampinga means "shield" in the language of Malagasy
Malagasy language
Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
.
Description
The species may have grown to over 40 centimetres (15.7 in) and 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) — larger than any living frogs, including the largest known species, the goliath frogGoliath frog
The goliath frog, Conraua goliath is the largest extant anuran on Earth. It can grow up to 33 cm in length from snout to vent, and weighs up to 3 kg . This animal has a relatively small habitat range, mainly in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea...
, which can be up to 32 centimetres (12.6 in). The bones of the skull roof
Skull roof
The skull roof , or the roofing bones of the skull are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes and all land living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone, hence the alternative name dermatocranium...
shows a rugous external surface, indicating that at least parts of the head may have borne scute
Scute
A scute or scutum is a bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, the feet of some birds or the anterior portion of the mesonotum in insects.-Properties:...
s.
Biogeography
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, which, still attached to India, had split from the coast of Somalia in the earliest stage of the late Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
, it superficially resembles its closest living relatives, the Ceratophryinae or horned toad
Ceratophrys
Ceratophrys is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae, subfamily Ceratophryinae. They are also known as South American horned frogs as well as Pacman frogs due to their characteristically large mouth and abdomen, thus resembling the video game character Pac-Man.-Gender differentiation:The...
s of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, of which the largest today grow to 15 cm (6 in.) long. As West Gondwana (South America) rifted away from East Gondwana, opening from the north and spreading southward, open marine conditions in the widening South Atlantic obtained by about 110 mya, isolating the amphibians on either side; the last common ancestor of Beelzebufo and the South American ceratophryinae is most likely to have existed before that date and probably before seafloor-spreading demonstrates the earlier isolation of Madagascar-India, a very long time undocumented by fossils. Alternatively the history of archaeogeography could be rewritten: Richard Lane, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, said "The occurrence of this frog in Madagascar and its relatives' existence in South America provides strong evidence that the supercontinent Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
'disassembled' during the latest part of the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
."
Lifestyle
In comparison with the living horned frogsCeratophryinae
The Ceratophryinae, known as common horned frogs, are a subfamily of the leptodactylid frogs. All species in this subfamily live in South America. Fossils of the giant Beelzebufo from Cretaceous Madagascar suggest that the subfamily may have once ranged throughout the prehistoric supercontinent of...
, Beelzebufo was a predator whose expansive mouth allowed it to eat relatively large prey, perhaps even juvenile dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. Beelzebufo was probably a dry-land frog, living in arid environments and ambushing prey.
Discovery
The first fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
fragments were found in 1993 by David W. Krause
David W. Krause
David W. Krause is a Canadian-born vertebrate paleontologist currently working as a Distinguished Service Professor at the Stony Brook University Department of Anatomical Sciences. His work primarily focuses on fossils from the Cretaceous period of Madagascar, and he often travels to the island to...
of New York's
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Stony Brook University, but it took 14 years for scientists Susan E. Evans
Susan E. Evans
Susan E. Evans is British paleontologist and herpetologist. She is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters....
, Marc E. H. Jones, and Krause to assemble enough data for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences...
, the journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Some 75 fossil fragments have been found. Researchers have been able to reconstruct parts of the frog's skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
, including nearly the entire skull.