Chris Cantell Discusses Science: Biggest, baddest and meanest frog ever hopping on Earth by Barbora Misakova

It is incredible! Every time I am reading an article about some new founded fossil it always shows it was an extra big animal, with some incredible features and I am always thankful I have no possibility to meet it today. This time scientists unearthed fossil of a fog which was living among dinosaurs million years ago and was as big as bowling ball. That's why they dubbed it Beelzebufo or Devil Toad. Beelzebufo is a word consisted from greek Beelzebub what means "devil" and Latin word "bufo" which means toad. Another reason why is this extraordinary ancient frog called devil is because of its big mouth. Scientists think it may except lizards, mammals and smaller fogs even ate newborn dinosaurs. This XXL toad wasn't special just because of its 10 pounds and 16 inches length, what made it look like it "was on steroids" jokingly said paleontologist David Krause from New York's Tony Brook University. This discovery was led by him and it shows on very close relatedness of this big toad to todays normal-sized frogs who live in South America. They are called "Pac-Man" due to their huge mouths and ability to swallow a mouse. But the importance of this discovery lies in the fact, that it points on challenging assumptions about ancient geography. The fact he Beelzebufo was found on Madagascar and its relatives are now only in South America points on possibility that once may have existed a land bridge which was connecting Madagascar to Antarctica (which was much warmer than it is today) and South America. It would then enabled animals move from one place to another and so this looks as one of the best explanations of this discovery. Krause began his research of fossils on the coast of Africa in 1993 when he was also finding dinosaur and crocodile fossils. After discovery of this large fossil of toad his team also confirmed that Beelzebufo didn't live an aquatic lifestyle, but it lived in a semi-arid environment where it camouflage itself. By this incredible discovery we are closer to knowledge of the ancient world and life on it.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080218/ap_on_sc/giant_frog;_ylt=AlU_NEXKHTJcxkhu.9Vj38as0NUE

by Barbora Misakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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