Dinosaur frog...

2003/10/16 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

...and I live. Researchers from India and Belgium have discovered the frog in the Gahts mountains in southern India. The frog obviously has a very special appearance. But experts have not been caught. In fact, among the frogs that pierce there are others of similar characteristics.

This frog has its peculiarity inside. According to analyses, the internal anatomy and genetic characteristics associate this frog from India with a very old family branch. His closest genetic relative is in the Seychelle Islands, today three thousand kilometers away. This kinship is not incomprehensible, as until about 65 million years ago the Seychelle Islands and India were together.

However, this special frog from India did not evolve after the land division, as genetic analyses indicate that it separated 130 million years ago. It is therefore very old.

Photo: S. Dr. D. Biju.