Avitabatrachus uliana Temporal range: Middle Cretaceous, 99.6–93.5 Ma |
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Fossil
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Subclass: | Lissamphibia |
Superorder: | Batrachia |
Order: | Anura |
Suborder: | Mesobatrachia |
Superfamily: | Pipoidea |
(unranked): | Pipimorpha |
Genus: |
†Avitabatrachus Baez, 2000 |
Species: | †Avitabatrachus uliana |
Avitabatrachus uliana is the single species in the extinct genus Avitabatrachus, a genus of prehistoric frogs that lived in the Middle Cretaceous. Fossils of A. uliana were found in north-west Patagonia in Argentina. It was properly described in 2000 and was then concluded to be most closely related to Pipidae frogs and hence was included in Pipimorpha.
The genus name, Avitabatrachus, is derived from the Greek avita meaning "ancient" and batrachos meaning "frog". It is called so because it is the oldest record of pipids in South America. The species name, uliana, is named in honour of Miguel Uliana.