In Depth
The chunky body and wide mouth of Beelzebufo meant that this prehistoric frog could have gulped down almost any small lizard or mammal that was unfortunate to come across it. Beelzebufo likely would have hunted on dry land and been a ‘sit and wait’ predator. This would involve Beelzebufo relying upon its colouration to blend into the ground, possibly near a clearing or track way, and waiting for its prey to arrive. Parts of the skull suggest the possible presence of scutes on at least the face of the living animal.
Further Reading
– A giant frog with South American affinities from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(8):2951-2956. – S. E. Evans, M. E. H. Jones & D. W. Krause – 2008. – Phylogenetic relationships of the Cretaceous frog Beelzebufo from Madagascar and the placement of fossil constraints based on temporal and phylogenetic evidence: Phylogenetic placement of Beelzebufo. – Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 24 (2): 274–285. – S. Ruane, R. A. Pyron & F. T. Burbrink – 2011. – Big, bad and bizarre: New material of Beelzebufo, a new hyperossified anuran from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, yields further surprises. – Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: Abstracts of papers, 73rd Annual Meeting, p. 123. – S. Evans et al – 2013. – New Material of Beelzebufo, a Hyperossified Frog (Amphibia: Anura) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. – PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e87236. – S. Evans, J. Groenke, M. Jones, A. Turner, D. Krause – 2014.
