Oldest tadpoles in the world: Fossil discovered from the dinosaur time!

Oldest tadpoles in the world: Fossil discovered from the dinosaur time!

A sensational fossil find from Argentina brings light into the evolution of the frogs! Paleontologists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a tadpole that is an incredible 161 million years old and thus lived at the time of the dinosaurs. This remarkable discovery was made in the Patagonian La-Matilde formation and shows that the way of life of the tadpoles at that time was already very similar. The almost completely preserved tadpoles measures 16 centimeters and even has petrified soft tissues such as eyes and nerves.

The researchers around Mariana Chuliver from the Universidad Mamónides in Buenos Aires are certain that this tadpole would develop into a huge frog called notobatrachus deegiustoi. The results indicate that the tadpoles already had a filter system for food intake, similar to today's frog larvae. This discovery proves that the two -phase life cycle of frogs and toads, consisting of aquatic tadpoles, was established over 161 million years ago and has remained unchanged since then. Further details on this fascinating discovery have been published in the journal "Nature", How www.w.sistlics.de reports .