''Vulcanobatrachus'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of fossil frog. The genus contains the single species ''Vulcanobatrachus mandelai'' found at Marydale, South Africa, described in 2005 and named after

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. The genus owes its name to the fact that fossils were recovered from an extinct volcanic crater lake of Late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

age. The fossil frogs are assumed to have died following a

limnic eruption A limnic eruption, also known as a lake overturn, is a very rare type of natural disaster in which dissolved carbon dioxide () suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud capable of suffocating wildlife, livestock, and humans. A lim ...

(a degassing event possibly of CO₂) by the volcano. The existence of fossil specimens was discovered accidentally in the late 1970s during prospecting of the volcanic

kimberlite Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known to be the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an diamond called the Star of ...

pipe for diamonds by

de Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...

Mining Company. Specimens of ''Vulcanobatrachus mandelai'' are curated by

Iziko South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important A ...

. It is a member of the clade

Pipimorpha Pipimorpha is an unranked clade containing all frogs which are more closely related to living Pipidae species than to living ''Rhinophrynus'' species. Members of this group are highly adapted to aquatic life. The oldest pipimorphs are '' Neusibat ...

, related to the family

Pipidae The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The 41 species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly aquatic and ...

References

Pipidae Late Cretaceous amphibians of Africa Fossil taxa described in 2005 {{pipidae-stub

See also

References