Devil Frog

• Author: admin
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Feb 19,2008

A prehistoric frog so big it may have dined on baby dinosaurs lived in Madagascar 65 million to 70 million years ago. The discovery was made on an African island, the devii frog weighed in at 10 pounds, was 16 inches long and sported a protective shield, a very wide mouth and very powerful jaws.

Its name, Beelzebufo ampinga, came from Beelzebub, the Greek for devil, and bufo - Latin for toad. Ampinga means “shield,” named for an armour-like part of its anatomy. The presence of Beelzebufo in Madagascar and its modern relatives in South America is the latest sign a long-lost land bridge once may have linked Madagascar to Antarctica - much warmer then - and South America, the scientists said.

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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