A green frog. - SIPANY / SIPA

Argentinian paleontologists have discovered fossil remains of a species of frog that lived in the center of the South American country about two million years ago, announced on Monday the National University of La Matanza. "We still know very little about prehistoric frogs and toads," says Federico Agnolin, researcher at the Argentine Museum of Natural Science.

#Argentina Descubren una pequeña rana fósil de dos millones de años a 44 metros de profundidadhttps: //t.co/uzG9mKXIqW pic.twitter.com/opu5FmnFqO

- Observador del Sur (@ObservadorSur) June 8, 2020

"Frogs and toads are very sensitive to climatic and environmental changes, so they are an important source of information for understanding past climates," added the scientist. The discovery was made at a depth of 44 meters when digging a water well in San Pedro, 180 kilometers north of Buenos Aires.

"A very small humerus"

Paleontologists have discovered "a tiny humerus of a tiny amphibian, different from toads and tree frogs," said the researcher. According to the specialist, the small fossil could be identified despite its size because the anurans, a group of amphibians including frogs and toads, have a particular structure at one end of the humerus, in the joint that forms the elbow .

This particular shape allows them to have great agility to perform rapid movements and jumps. "Being able to know the existence of a new species of amphibian at the end of the Pliocene-beginning of the Pleistocene is a very important contribution to Argentine paleontology", rejoices Federico Agnolin.

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