Systematic status of the mid Tertiary Neobatrachian Calyptocephalella canqueli from Patagonia (Argentina), with comments on the evolution of the genus

MUZZOPAPPA, PAULA; BÁEZ, ANA MARÍA

AMEGHINIANA

ASOCIACION PALEONTOLOGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2009 vol. 46 p. 113 - 125

0002-7014

The neobatrachian genus Calyptocephalella Strand, closely allied to the Australian myobatrachoids in recent molecular analyses, isnow restricted to lowland water bodies of the Austral forests of Chile but had a broader distribution according to paleontological data. New, well-preserved material from the early Miocene locality Estancia Baibián, Argentina, is described herein and assigned to C. canqueli Schaeffer, a species erected on the basis of Deseadan (Late Oligocene) specimens, but subsequently synonymized with the only living species, C. gayi Duméril and Bibrón. Detailed comparisons suggest that C. canqueli is a valid taxon representing frogs that inhabited Patagonia east of the Andes in the Late Oligocene?Early Miocene; a revised diagnosis is provided for the species. Palynological evidence coupled with the presence of C. canqueli document that humid forests, dominated by the angiosperm Nothofagus, persisted near the Atlantic coast in the Miocene. Disappearance of suitable habitats owing to a marked drying trend that started in the middle Miocene may have been responsible for the demise of this anuran genus east of the Andes.