A new genus of pipimorph frog (anura) from the early Cretaceous Crato formation (aptian) and the evolution of South American tongueless frogs

ARANCIAGA ROLANDO, MAURO A.; FREITAS, FRANCISCO IDALÉCIO; AGNOLIN, FEDERICO; XAVIER-NETO, JOSÉ; CARVALHO, ISMAR SOUZA; NOVAS, FERNANDO E.; ANDRADE, JOSÉ ARTUR FERREIRA GOMES

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2019 vol. 92 p. 222 - 233

0895-9811

Pipimorpha is a clade of tongueless anurans with a wide fossil record. Furthermore, the oldest South American fossils come from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Patagonia, Argentina. The aim of the present contribution is to describe a new genus and species of Pipimorpha from the Crato Formation (Aptian, Early Cretaceous), Araripe Basin, Brazil. The new specimen consists of a nearly complete skeleton that shows several anatomical similarities with other fossils from South America. Phylogenetic analysis resulted in the nesting of the new taxon within a previously unrecognized endemic South American clade. Further, some traditional groupings within Pipimorpha were not recognized. The new phylogenetic analysis reinforces previous biogeographical hypotheses sustaining dispersal of pipimorph between Africa and South America through an island chain or continental bridge across the Atlantic Ocean.