''Beelzebufo ampinga'' ( or ) was a particularly large species of prehistoric
frog described in 2008. 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
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of the
Maevarano Formation in
Madagascar, dating to the late
Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago (Mya).
It is considered to be closely related to ''
Baurubatrachus
''Baurubatrachus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs found in the Maastrichtian Marília Formation of Brazil, formerly considered to be related to the extant family Ceratophryidae. However, a detailed assessment of the anatomy and relatio ...
'' from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil, with both possibly being close relatives, though not members of, the extant South American frog family
Ceratophryidae.
Discovery
The first
fossil bones were found in 1993 by
David W. Krause
David W. Krause is a Canadian-born vertebrate paleontologist currently working as Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which he joined in 2016. Prior to that he was a Distinguished Service Professor ...
of New York's
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, but it took 14 years for scientists
Susan E. Evans
Susan E. Evans is British palaeontologist and herpetologist. She is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
She received a BSc in Zoology at Bedford College in 1974, and in 1977 a PhD in vertebrate palaeon ...
, 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.
[ The ]generic
Generic or generics may refer to:
In business
* Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark
* Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
name ''Beelzebufo'' is a portmanteau of '' Beelzebub'' (a Semitic deity whose name may be translated as "Lord of the Flies", sometimes identified either as one of the chief lieutenants, or alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
of the Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Devil) and '' bufo'' ( Latin for "toad"). The specific name ''ampinga'' means "shield" in Malagasy.
Some 75 fossil isolated partial bones have been found. Some portions of articulated skull are also known: specimen FMNH PR 2512 (which preserves most of the braincase, part of the palate, and part of the skull roof) and specimen FMNH PR 2512 (which preserves one of the posterior flanges). Researchers have been able to reconstruct parts of the frog's skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
, including nearly the entire skull.
Description
In early studies, it is suggested that snout-vent lengths of up to 42.5 cm (16.7 in). But in later studies, animals of this species estimated to have grown to at least (snout-vent length), which is around the size a modern African bullfrog can reach. The head of ''Beelzebufo'' was very big, and bones of the 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 and are part of the dermatocranium.
In comparati ...
show a rugous external surface, indicating at least parts of the head may have borne bony scales, called scutes.
The skull sutures are open in even the largest specimens of ''Beelzebufo'', showing that it might have grown even bigger.
Paleobiology
''Beelzebufo'' most likely was a predator whose expansive mouth allowed it to eat relatively large prey, perhaps even juvenile dinosaurs. Bite force measurements from a growth series of Cranwell's horned frog
Cranwell's horned frog (''Ceratophrys cranwelli)'', also called commonly the Chacoan horned frog, is a terrestrial frog in the family Ceratophryidae. The species is endemic to the dry Gran Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil ...
(''Ceratophrys cranwelli''), suggest that the bite force of a large ''Beelzebufo'' — skull width — may have been between .
Paleobiogeography
The fossils of ''Beelzebufo'' are from Madagascar, which, while still attached to India, separated from the coast of Somalia in the earliest stage of the Late Jurassic. ''Beelzebufo'' resembles horned frogs (Ceratophryidae) of South America, which raised the possibility of a close biogeographic link between Madagascar and South America during the Cretaceous. The initial description of ''Beelzebufo'' hypothesis reignited interest and research into skeletal variation among living members of the Ceratophyridae. These investigations suggest several of the similarities between ''Beelzebufo'' and horned frogs may have evolved by convergence; a possibility certainly acknowledged in the descriptions of ''Beelzebufo''.
A study from 2018 suggested that ''Beelzebufo'', and other extinct frogs with ceratophryid-like traits, such as ''Baurubatrachus
''Baurubatrachus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs found in the Maastrichtian Marília Formation of Brazil, formerly considered to be related to the extant family Ceratophryidae. However, a detailed assessment of the anatomy and relatio ...
'', were instead part of a more ancient group of Neobatrachia, distantly related to horned frogs. However, a 2022 study recovered ''Baurubatrachus'' and ''Beelzebufo'' as sister species, with the clade formed by the two genera in turn being the sister clade to extant Ceratophyridae. Thus, ''Beelzebufo'' could represent a taxon on the stem of crown group Ceratophryidae as previously suggested.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q814066
Cretaceous frogs
Late Cretaceous amphibians
Maevarano fauna
Fossil taxa described in 2008
Maastrichtian life
Beelzebub
Neobatrachia