Kingdom Animalia Class Amphibia Family Pipidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Superfamily Pipoidea Genus Vulcanobatrachus | |
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Vulcanobatrachus is an extinct genus of fossil frog. The new genus which contains the single species Vulcanobatrachus mandelai found at Marydale, South Africa was recently described. The genus owes its name to the fact that fossils were recovered from an extinct volcanic crater lake of Late Cretaceous origin. The fossil frogs are assumed to have died following a degassing event (possibly of CO2) by the volcano.
The existence of fossil specimens was discovered accidentally in the late 1970s during prospecting of the volcanic kimberlite pipe for diamonds by de Beers Mining Company. Specimens of Vulcanobatrachus mandelai are curated by Iziko Museums, Gardens, Cape Town.
References
Vulcanobatrachus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA