''Nevobatrachus gracilis'' is the only species in the extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Nevobatrachus'', a genus of prehistoric

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

. The original generic name of this frog was ''Cordicephalus'' Nevo (1968); however, this generic name turned out to be

preoccupied In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the s ...

by a

cestode Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, commonly known as tapeworms. Their bodies co ...

genus ''Cordicephalus'' Wardle, McLeod & Stewart (1947), which remains nomenclaturally available in spite of being considered a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of the diphyllobothriid genus ''Pyramicocephalus''. Mahony (2019) coined a replacement name ''Nevobatrachus''. Fossils of ''N. gracilis'' were found in a

lacustrine A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

deposit in

Makhtesh Ramon Makhtesh Ramon (; ''lit.'' Ramon Crater/ Makhtesh; ; ''lit.'' The Ruman Wadi) is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of Beersheba, the landform is the world's largest "erosion cirque" (steephead valley ...

called "Amphibian Hill" and it is believed they lived during the

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also * Nizhny {{Disambiguation ...

. When first described by Eviatar Nevo of the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

(in 1968) the genus ''Cordicephalus'' was thought to contain two species, ''C. gracilis'' and ''C. longicostatus''. Since then it was redescribed and it was determined that ''N. gracilis'' was the only species in the genus.

Etymology

The original genus' name derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''cordi'' (cor meaning

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

) and ''cephalus'' (meaning head). The name comes from the heart-like shape of its skull. The species name, ''gracilis'', comes from the Latin for slender. The replacement generic name is derived from the surname of Eviatar Nevo and from ''batrachus'', a Greek word for a frog.

Description

Like its close relatives, ''N. gracilis'' was fairly small, about in length. It had a flat

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

which was almost as wide as it was long, features usually found in aquatic animals. Other features that support that view that ''N. gracilis'' had a mainly aquatic lifestyle is its short axial column as well as large foot bones which may imply extensive webbing.

Taxonomy

''Nevobatrachus'' is considered to be a member of the clade

Pipimorpha Pipoidea are a clade of frogs, that contains the most recent common ancestor of living Pipidae and Rhinophrynidae as well as all its descendants. It is broadly equivalent to Xenoanura. Description The synapomorphies that define Pipoidea are ...

, related to the living family

Pipidae The Pipidae are a family (biology), family of primitive, tongueless frogs. There are 41 species in the family, found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevobatrachus gracilis Early Cretaceous amphibians of Asia Pipoidea Prehistoric amphibian genera Fossils of Israel Early Cretaceous frogs Fossil taxa described in 2019