Cordicephalus
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Cordicephalus gracilis Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous, 112.0–125.0 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Mesobatrachia |
| Superfamily: | Pipoidea |
| (unranked): | Pipimorpha |
| Genus: |
Cordicephalus Nevo, 1968 |
| Species: | †Cordicephalus gracilis |
Cordicephalus gracilis is the only species in the extinct genus Cordicephalus, a genus of prehistoric frogs. Fossils of C. gracilis were found in a lacustrine deposit in Makhtesh Ramon called "Amphibian Hill" and it is believed they lived during the Lower Cretaceous.
When first described by Eviatar Nevo of the University of Haifa (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 C. gracilis was the only species in the genus.
The genus' name derives from the Latin cordi (cor meaning heart) 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.
Like its close relatives, C. gracilis was fairly small, about 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in length. It had a flat skull which was almost as wide as it was long, features usually found in aquatic animals. Other features that support that view that C. gracilis had a mainly aquatic lifestyle is its short axial column as well as large foot bones which may imply extensive webbing.
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