|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 02/19/2008 : 09:12:50
|
I have long and loudly stated that the Okeefenoki Bullfrog is, pound for pound, among the most ferocious predators that ever lived. It will eat anything that it can overpower and swallow and this includes fish, rodents, snakes, neonate turtles & alligators, toads and other frogs including smaller bullfrogs, and even birds. I once found a bat in one that I was cleaning for the skillet. Well, it seems that the Cretatious, wherein 'most everything except mammals was bigger & better, had a frog to contend with as well: Beelzebufo ampinga, and what a frog it was!
The article speculates that it may well have preyed upon hatchling dinosaurs but, knowing a little about frogs, I don't think there is any “may have” about it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was the biggest, baddest, meanest froggy ever to have hopped on Earth.
Scientists on Monday announced the discovery in northwestern Madagascar of a bulky amphibian dubbed the "devil frog" that lived 65 million to 70 million years ago and was so nasty it may have eaten newborn dinosaurs.
This brute was larger than any frog living today and may be the biggest frog ever to have existed, according to paleontologist David Krause of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, one of the scientists who found the remains.
Its name, Beelzebufo ampinga, came from Beelzebub, the Greek for devil, and bufo -- Latin for toad. Ampinga means "shield," named for an armor-like part of its anatomy.
Beelzebufo (pronounced bee-el-zeh-BOOF-oh) was 16 inches
long and weighed an estimated 10 pounds (4.5 kg).
And of course, Dinosaurs doubtless preyed upon it as well and thus the world turns -- oh, wait….. They were all vegetarian until the Fall, weren‘t they?
Hahahaha! Tell that one to the guys in the Okeefenoki! 
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 02/19/2008 : 12:26:51 [Permalink]
|
Another great post, Fil! | The article speculates that it may well have preyed upon hatchling dinosaurs but, knowing a little about frogs, I don't think there is any “may have” about it. |
The voice of practical experience. LOL!
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
 |
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 13:22:11 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by HalfMooner
Another great post, Fil! | The article speculates that it may well have preyed upon hatchling dinosaurs but, knowing a little about frogs, I don't think there is any “may have” about it. |
The voice of practical experience. LOL!
|
Thanks! Amphibians are amazing animals and if we look back into the Permian, when they first came ashore, they were astonishing.
Hell, they're still astonishing. All but a handful were killed off during the huge extinction event at the end of the Permian, yet they still persist, recovering in the Triassic, when ancestral frogs first appeared.
Beelzebufo was a much later development and it causes me to wonder: what other frogs might there have been? Perhaps this guy wasn't really the Bull-Goose Frog at all..... If not, wouldn't we love to see the species that was!
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
ktesibios
SFN Regular
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 15:53:15 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by filthy
Its name, Beelzebufo ampinga, came from Beelzebub, the Greek for devil, and bufo -- Latin for toad. Ampinga means "shield," named for an armor-like part of its anatomy.
|
While their paleontology might be beyond reproach, they don't seem to be much on etymology. Beelzebub is generally considered to have been derived from Hebrew, possibly ba'al zevub, "lord of flying things" or "lord of the flies".
Here's the Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub , although the same bit of information is also found in one of Asimov's short stories.  |
"The Republican agenda is to turn the United States into a third-world shithole." -P.Z.Myers |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 16:45:01 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by ktesibios
Originally posted by filthy
Its name, Beelzebufo ampinga, came from Beelzebub, the Greek for devil, and bufo -- Latin for toad. Ampinga means "shield," named for an armor-like part of its anatomy.
|
While their paleontology might be beyond reproach, they don't seem to be much on etymology. Beelzebub is generally considered to have been derived from Hebrew, possibly ba'al zevub, "lord of flying things" or "lord of the flies".
Here's the Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub , although the same bit of information is also found in one of Asimov's short stories.
|
Thanks! I too, was vaguely under the impression that Beelzebub was from the Hebrew but whadda I know. I barely speak English. Bufo, as mentioned is from the Latin.
Scientific names are generally considered to be Latinized and most of them are, although in fact, they might be anything that appeals to the discoverer. I thought Beelzebufo to be a little silly, but neat anyway.
So evidently the Greeks had nothing to do with it. (Durn Greeks tryin' to steal ever'thing not spiked the the mainm'st.)
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
|
|
bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 20:45:44 [Permalink]
|
Forum Friends of Frogs.....
I just Found what I was really Fumbling for - a Photo of Frogs Fucking! Feel free to Fondle your Fundament if you Fantasize Fornication with Frogs!
I have to admit there is some suggestion of anura necrophilia here! Try to ignore that, and just enjoy!
Friendly little Fuckers! |
| Edited by - bngbuck on 02/19/2008 20:47:53 |
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 21:14:34 [Permalink]
|
I like this critter, said to have been discovered by Doctors Comfort and Cameron:
Beefbufo ampinga
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 02/19/2008 21:15:06 |
|
|
|
Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 21:21:04 [Permalink]
|
Many years ago I had an African clawed frog.
They are completely aquatic and very cool to look at even though they really don't do anything much, accept assume a position and wait for prey to make the mistake of swimming too close to the frogs mouth or outstretched arms. I fed it gold fish.
I also had a Tire eel in the same tank. It was a pretty big eel and they lived together in the tank for several years.
One morning I awoke and looked at the tank. The eel was gone and the frog had a funny and yet satisfied look on his face.
Eating the eel was no small feat for that frog. The eel was longer than the frog and pretty plump as eels go. But, unfortunately for the eel, he got too close…
|
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 22:52:43 [Permalink]
|
Amphibian Kindergarten |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 02/20/2008 02:45:49 |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 02/20/2008 : 03:51:25 [Permalink]
|
Amphibious Cluster-fuck
Actually bubble-nesting tree frogs (species uncertain. There are a number of species of bubble-nesters) spawning. I seem to recall writing something fairly lengthly on frogs a couple years back. Maybe I'll see if I can dig that out, if I can remember the title.
'Mooner, nothing is bigger than a frog's head! Be glad that none of them weigh a ton or more! I once had a Green Frog, (Rana clamitans -- slightly smaller than a Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), leap out of the water and try to swallow my hand at the middle finger. Comes to appetite & savage ferocity on scale, T. rex just couldn't compete.
Great picture, by the bye. I'm saving that one!
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 04:23:38 [Permalink]
|
I seem to recall that a bullfrog tried to eat my hand once, when I was a kid. Luckily, its teeth (do they have teefs?) weren't much of a much. I didn't leave my fingers inside the frog long enough to be digested. I'm supposing they kill more by suffocation and digestion than anything else.
Thanks for the kudos about the captions I added! My unreliable crack-whore of a Muse simply planted those comments in my imagination. It seemed the illustration was made with that "lesson" in mind. Quickest thing I ever did.
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 02/20/2008 04:27:20 |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 04:40:04 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by HalfMooner
I seem to recall that a bullfrog tried to eat my hand once, when I was a kid. Luckily, its teeth (do they have teefs?) weren't much of a much. I didn't leave my fingers inside the frog long enough to be digested. I'm supposing they kill more by suffocation and digestion than anything else.
Thanks for the kudos about the captions I added! My unreliable crack-whore of a Muse simply planted those comments in my imagination. It seemed the illustration was made with that "lesson" in mind. Quickest thing I ever did.
|
They have teeth, of sorts, in the upper jaw only. These are very tiny and feel more like bristles.
The way a frog feeds is to lunge at the prey, scoop it up with it's tongue and clamp it against these teeth. Then work it down it's gullet. Some fully aquatic frogs don't have a tongue, and these simply create a partial vacumn in their bodies and then open their mouth to suck the prey in. Either way, it's very effective.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 04:51:02 [Permalink]
|
The frog seems to be more of an "ultimate eating machine" than Jaws.
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 05:04:03 [Permalink]
|
By the sweaty scrotum of Sisyphus, I've found the article! But there is a problem: I've located it in my archives, but can't seem to dig it out of SFN's.
Li'l help, someone -- the title iS A RHAPSODY IN GREEN.
I'd hate to have to post the whole, damned thing all over again & won't unless asked -- asked a lot. The link would be much better.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 05:13:42 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by HalfMooner
The frog seems to be more of an "ultimate eating machine" than Jaws.
|
Joo bet-a joo bippy dey am! And a lot less specalized. A shark might go without feeding for weeks, but with a frog, it's every day & night, and anything with a little protine.
Damn, but I like frogs! How could we not? What's not to love?
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Beelzebufo ampinga
