A surprise find: 99-million-year-old frog encased in amber

The Washington Post ^ | 06/15/18 | Allyson Chiu

[Simon Green]

At first glance, the oddly shaped splotches darkening a vibrant yellow piece of amber appear to be amorphous blobs. But upon closer examination, a shape emerges.

There are two forelimbs. At the end of each limb are four smaller bones, forming a distinctly handlike shape. Within the largest dark spot, which has a rounded top, eye sockets become distinguishable. It’s a skull.

Encased within the smooth chunk of amber is the body of a tiny young tropical frog. Scientists say the diminutive critter, measuring less than an inch long, lived about 99 million years ago before it became entombed in sticky tree sap. At the time, dinosaurs still roamed Earth.

The fossil is one of four that date to the Cretaceous period, providing scientists with the earliest direct evidence that frogs inhabited wet, tropical forests, according to a statement from the Florida Museum of Natural History. The findings were published Thursday in Nature’s Scientific Reports.

“It’s almost unheard of to get a fossil frog from this time period that is small, has preservation of small bones and is mostly three-dimensional,” the study’s co-author David Blackburn, the associate curator of herpetology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. “This is pretty special.”

The fossils included one skeleton of a frog that was complete enough for scientists to identify it as a new species, named Electrorana limoae, the study said. The other fossils contain two hands and an imprint of a frog that probably decayed inside the amber.

[MrEdd]

If they took the bones out, it wouldn’t be crunchy, would it?

[Williams]

To hell with the Washington Post.

[BBell]

Cretaceous park?

[Karliner]

Almost as old as Pelousi.

[BBell]

[Cementjungle]

"At first glance, the oddly shaped splotches darkening a vibrant yellow piece of amber appear to be amorphous blobs. But upon closer examination, a shape emerges. There are two forelimbs. At the end of each limb are four smaller bones, forming a distinctly handlike shape."

Sounds like a pre-historic GOP Congressman.

[Klemper]

I’ll have the rams bladder cup, or the spring surprise.

[txnativegop]

Interesting, thanks for posting!

FReegards

[SunkenCiv]

“**** your sales!”

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Simon Green. In before the singing frog cartoon references, oops, actually, at the same time. Everybody's doin' the Michigan Rag...

[noiseman]

Next stop: Jurassic Pond

[waterhill]

Its not easy being green and 9 million years old

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

They finally found Helen Thomas. She was a little older than I thought but I wasn’t off by much.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

They found Kermit. Damn you Amber. He was funny.

[Ancesthntr]

Hey, people, show some respect. This is Pepe’s great, great, great, etc. grampa.

[alexander_busek]

[...] a new species, named Electrorana limoae, the study said.

Cute! "Elektron" = Ancient Greek for "amber" (and the term "electricity" can be traced back to the little sparks generated when rubbing amber with fur). "Ranus" = Ancient Greek for "frog."

Regards,

[SaveFerris]

A great MP bit.

Are we about to have Jurassic Park of some sort after this?

[SaveFerris]

+1

[elbook]

Now we CAN use frog DNA to create a T-rex !!!!