Notobatrachus is an extinct genus of frog from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) Cañadon Asfalto Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin and Middle Jurassic La Matilde Formation, Deseado Massif of Patagonia, Argentina.[Escapa et al., 2008] N. degiustoi is the most completely known Jurassic frog and has been recorded in many outcrops of the La Matilde Formation of the Deseado Massif in southern Patagonia.[Báez & Nicoli, 2004, p.258]
Description
Most of the specimens of
N. degiustoi are postmetamorphic individuals, with the largest individuals reaching body lengths of , making them among the largest known frogs of the Mesozoic era, and comparable in size to many large modern frogs.
CPBA-V-14003 consists of disarticulated cranial and postcranial elements, and may correspond either to a late metamorphosing tadpole or an early postmetamorphic individual.
[Báez & Nicoli, 2004, p.259] In 2024, a tadpole specimen of
N. degiustoi (MPM-PV 23540) was reported from the La Matilde Formation of Argentina, representing the oldest known tadpole and the first stem-anuran larva in the fossil record. Tadpoles of this species reached lengths of , among the largest recorded in frogs living or extinct.
Ecology
Notobatrachus degiustoi lived in a
floodplain environment that varied from being
Wet season to
Dry season. Tadpoles of
Notobatrachus degiustoi are thought to have lived in
Ephemeral pond that formed and disappeared seasonally. Like many living tadpoles, they are thought to have been
Filter feeder.
Taxonomy
Notobatrachus is thought to be a member of the
stem-group of Anura, with all living frogs more closely related to each other than
Notobatrachus, though
Notobatrachus is more closely related to modern frogs than earlier
Salientia like
Triadobatrachus,
Czatkobatrachus, and
Prosalirus.
Bibliography
Further reading
-
Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (Life of the Past) by Pat Vickers Rich, Thomas Hewitt Rich, Francesco Coffa, and Steven Morton
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The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia by Michael J. Benton, Mikhail A. Shishkin, David M. Unwin, and Evgenii N. Kurochkin
-
Fossil Frogs and Toads of North America (Life of the Past) by J. Alan Holman
