Beelzebufo ampinga (/biːˌɛlzɪˈbjuːfoʊ æmˈpɪŋɡə/ or /ˌbiːlzəˈbjuːfoʊ/) was a particularly large species of prehistoric frog described in 2008. Common names assigned by the popular media include devil frog,[1] devil toad,[2] and the frog from hell.[3] Fossils of Beelzebufo have been recovered from strata of the Maevarano Formation in Madagascar, dating to the late Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago (Mya).[4] Contents 1 Etymology 2 Description 3 Biogeography 4 Lifestyle 5 Discovery 6 See also 7 References Etymology The generic name Beelzebufo is a portmanteau of Beelzebub (a Semitic deity whose name may be translated as "Lord of the Flies", sometimes identified either as one of the chief lieutenants, or alter ego of the Christian Devil) and bufo (Latin for "toad"). The specific name ampinga means "shield" in Malagasy. Description Three-dimensional digital reconstruction Animals of this species may have grown to at least 23.2 cm (9.1 in) (snout-vent length), which is around the size a modern African Bullfrog can reach.[5] The head of Beelzebufo was very big,[5] and bones of the skull roof show a rugous external surface, indicating at least parts of the head may have borne bony scales, called scutes. The skull sutures are open in even the largest specimens of Beelzebufo, showing that it may have grown even bigger. Some estimates suggest snout-vent lengths of up to 42.5 cm (16.7 in).[4] Biogeography The fossils of Beelzebufo appear in what is now Madagascar, which, still attached to India, had split from the coast of Somalia in the earliest stage of the late Jurassic.[6] It superficially resembles horned toads of South America, which had formerly led to consider a close biogeographic link between Madagascar and South America during the Cretaceous.[4][5] However, Beelzebufo is not closely related to horned frogs and their similarities are considered to have evolved by convergence.[7][8] As occur with other extinct frogs formerly considered related to Ceratophryidae, such as Baurubatrachus, Beelzebufo might be instead part of a more ancient group of Neobatrachia, distantly related to horned frogs.[8] Lifestyle Beelzebufo most likely was a predator whose expansive mouth allowed it to eat relatively large prey, perhaps even juvenile dinosaurs.[9] Bite force measurements from a growth series of Cranwell's horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli), suggest that the bite force of a large Beelzebufo (skull width 15.4 cm) may have been between 500 and 2200 N [10] Discovery This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Beelzebufo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The first fossil fragments were found in 1993 by David W. Krause of New York's Stony Brook University, but it took 14 years for scientists Susan E. Evans, Marc E. H. Jones, and Krause to assemble enough data for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. Some 75 fossil fragments have been found. Researchers have been able to reconstruct parts of the frog's skeleton, including nearly the entire skull.
