Albionbatrachus
| Albionbatrachus Temporal range: Upper Eocene–Lower Miocene,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | †Palaeobatrachidae |
| Genus: | †Albionbatrachus Meszoely, Špinar and Ford, 1984 |
| Type species | |
| †Albionbatrachus wightensis Meszoely, Špinar and Ford, 1984
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| Other species | |
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Albionbatrachus is an extinct genus of prehistoric frogs from England and Romania, that spanned to the Eocene to Miocene. Two species are recognized:[1] [2]
Discovery and Naming
[edit]Discovery
[edit]A.wightensis was discovered near Alum Bay, Isle of Wright, while A.oligocenicus was found in the Dancu formation.[3] [4] The holotype of A.wightensis MCZ 8784 consists of an almost complete frontoparietal bone, and the holotype of A,oligocenicus consists of nearly complete frontoparietal bones.[3] [4]
Etymology
[edit]The genus name combines Albion which is Latin for England and batrachus meaning frog in Greek.[4][5] The species name for A.wightensis which refers the area of discovery being the Isle of Wright, and for A.oligocenicus refers to the greek name for Oligocene..[4][3]
Description
[edit]The main distinguishing factor is it's frontopaterial bone having an hourglass shape, other features include the frontopaterial being flat and ornamented, paroccipital processes extending past the posterior median process and the middle layer containing large cavities and the large cavities being connected to the frontopaterial by inclined canals.[2][3]
A.wightensis
[edit]A.wightensis has prominet lateral corners which form spurlike processes, and has a synsacrum.[4]
A.oligocenicus
[edit]A.oligocenicus differs from A.wightensis from a lack of dorsal anterior depression, less pronounced dorsal sculptures, lower occipital ridge, paraoccpital processes being more elevated dorsally, the back section of Meckel's cartilage being ossified, and an small tubercle on the preacetabular portion of the ilium.
Paleoecology
[edit]The presence of an synsacrum indicates an aquatic lifestyle, and might have made a niche in low oxygen environments, and if the cavities were used relive CO2, that might suggest more terrestrial adaptations.[2][3][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Martín, C.; Sanchiz, B. (2014). "Albionbatrachus". Lisanfos KMS. Version 1.2. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Madrid (Spain). Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Roček, Zbyněk; Boistel, Renaud; Lenoir, Nicolas; Mazurier, Arnaud; Pierce, Stephanie E.; Rage, Jean-Claude; Smirnov, Sergei V.; Schwermann, Achim H.; Valentin, Xavier; Venczel, Márton; Wuttke, Michael; Zikmund, Tomáš (November 2015). "Frontoparietal Bone in Extinct Palaeobatrachidae (Anura): Its Variation and Taxonomic Value: FRONTOPARIETAL IN EXTINCT PALAEOBATRACHID FROGS". The Anatomical Record. 298 (11): 1848–1863. doi:10.1002/ar.23203. PMID 26235188. S2CID 30748485.
- ^ a b c d e f Venczel, Márton, Vlad Codrea & Cristina Fărcaș, 2012: A new palaeobatrachid frog from the early Oligocene of Suceag, Romania. Journal of systematic palaeontology, 11(2): 179–189. doi:10.1080/14772019.2012.671790.
- ^ a b c d e f g C. A. M. Meszoely, Z. V. Spinar, and R. L. E. Ford. 1984. A new palaeobatrachid frog from the Eocene of the British Isles. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 3(3):143-147
- ^ "Batrachus". Ultimate Lexicon. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
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