THE only thing scientists could think to compare it with was a purple doughnut – with arms and legs.
It's not a very flattering description for a new family of frogs – perhaps among the oldest ever discovered, having once hopped around under the feet of dinosaurs.
A relative of burrowing frogs found in Australia, the frog – which looks like a lump of gelatine – was found in southern India.
It is believed to belong to a previously unknown branch of frog that dates back more than 130 million years.
This was around the time that India and Madagascar broke away from the giant land mass, Gondwana, of which Australia was a part for another 70 million years.
The discovery, revealed today in the international science journal Nature, was made by biologists from India and Belgium trying to discover new species in so-called "hot-spots".
The frog, named Nasikabatrachus – Sanskrit for "frog with a nose" – is believed to be a descendant of ancient families of burrowing frog which could have been widespread in Gondwana – and hence ancient Australia.
"This discovery also draws attention to our incomplete knowledge of biological diversity," said Blair Hedges, of the Pennsylvania State University's biology department. "Biologists are racing to survey and discover species in hot spots before they disappear."
Link:
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