Scientists in breakthrough research discovered fossils of the earliest-known tadpole, which existed in the Jurassic period.
According to ABC News, researchers discovered a tadpole fossil of a frog that lived around 161 million years ago. They believe that the 16-centimeter tadpole died and sank to the bottom of a pond and remained there for millions of years.
The research on Jurassic amphibians published in the journal Nature provides insights into the evolutionary stages of the earliest frogs in the world.
Professor John Long, a paleontologist at Flinders University who was not involved in the new research, said, “Frogs metamorphose from tadpoles... that's one of the most dramatic transformations in the life history of any backboned animal on the planet. And this new fossil is just spectacular because it proves that frogs were transforming from tadpoles way back in the early Jurassic."
The giant tadpole fossil discovered in Patagonia, Argentina, belongs to a species called Notobatrachus degiustoi, which no longer exists. They lived in the shallow ponds that dried up and refilled with the season, and after growing up, they looked similar to the modern-day frogs.
The lead author of the study, Mariana Chuliver Pereyra, said, “One of the most groundbreaking aspects of this finding is that it provides the first evidence for the presence of a tadpole, followed by a drastic metamorphosis... from the very beginning of the evolutionary history.”
Furthermore, Professor Long noted that the tadpole specimen is “not just the skeleton, but there are nerves and eyes.” It was extremely well preserved, and some of its soft tissues were imprinted into the fossil in dark marks on rock.
Researchers are hopeful that they will find some more exciting discoveries from the site in the future.
