Tiny Frog Discovered In Arizona Lived With The Dinosaurs 216 Million Years Ago
Some ancient relatives of the modern frogs which were only the size of a fingernail used to live with the dinosaurs 216 million years ago.
Tiny frog from the Late Triassic
The bone fragments of such a frog, having the size of an eyelash have been discovered embedded in rock, and experts believe that they date way back to the Late Triassic.
The Daily Mail reports that the section of hip bone which is known as the ilium belongs to a group of amphibians called the Chingle frogs – these are a long extinct brand of the modern frogs.
The fossil fragments have been discovered by the paleontologists from Virginia Tech, and they claim they are the oldest known frogs in North America.
The fragments are smaller than a fingernail
The Daily Mail reports that “The fragments are packed into rock and are smaller than a fingernail, according to the researchers.”
The publication continues and explains that “Researchers found the fragments represent the first known and earliest equatorial remains of a salientian – the group containing living frogs.”
It also seems that these are the most closely related animals in the fossil record to the modern frogs.
“This new find highlights just how much there is still to learn about the Late Triassic ecosystem, and how much we find when we just look a little closer,” dr. Michelle Stocker said.
She explained that “We’re familiar with the charismatic archosaurs from the Chinle Formation, but we know that based on other ecosystems, they should make up a small percentage of the animals that lived together.”
She also said that with the help of this new finding experts would be able to fill in a lot of missing pieces with new discoveries.
“These are the oldest frogs from near the equator. The oldest frogs overall are roughly 250 million years old from Madagascar and Poland, but those specimens are from higher latitudes and not equatorial” she said.
Read the complete article on Daily Mail.
I have been blogging and posting articles for over eight years, but my passion for writing dates back in 2000. I am especially enthusiastic about technology, science, and health-related issues. When I’m not researching and writing the latest news, I’m either watching sci-fi and horror movies or checking out places worth visiting and building deep memories for later in life. I believe in empathy and continually improving myself.
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