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http://www.popsci.com/beelzebufo-devil-frog-bite-force-dinosaur
Beelzebufo ampinga, so named for the ancient deity often called the "Lord of the Flies," was a devilish frog indeed. The species, which lived on the island of Madagascar around 70 million years ago, was likely the biggest frog that ever hopped about the Earth (National Geographic describes it, delightfully, as "beach-ball-size"). And according to new research on its modern cousins published in Scientific Reports, Beelzebufo ampinga may have had jaws powerful enough to obliterate small dinosaurs.
[...] When you bump up the scale to match the size of Beelzebufo ampinga fossils, the estimated bite force shoots up to 2,200 Newtons—which is comparable to what you see in predators like lions.
"At this bite force, Beelzebufo would have been capable of subduing the small and juvenile dinosaurs that shared its environment," study author Marc Jones, researcher at the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences and honorary researcher at the South Australian Museum, said in a statement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @04:17AM (1 child)
Now, how did they actually capture the prey?
How close did it have to be?
One article says
If it shared the aggressive temperament and "sit-and-wait" ambush tactics of [present-day] horned toads
Another says
These largely terrestrial frogs may have been as ill-tempered and aggressive as their living relatives, the ceratophyrines of South America, scientists say. Ceratophyrines are nasty sit-and-wait predators that are eager to snap at just about anything that happens by
So, was there tongue action involved as I usually think of with frogs?
...or did they jump and catch the prey?
Was camoflage a big factor?
Were the juvenile dinosaurs just outwitted by an adult frog?
.
One article says
grew to 16 inches (41 centimeters) in length and weighed about 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms)
That must mean snout to butt--not with the legs stretched out.
A guy who was a few years older than I was brought home what he described as an Amazonian bullfrog that was alive and apparently left over from his high school's Biology department.
It was like chihuahua-sized.
Stretched out, it would have been over 16 inches.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday September 26 2017, @04:33AM
Not the answers you were asking for, but I thought it interesting: The frog tongue is a high-speed adhesive [theconversation.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford