Daza, J; Stanley, EL; Bolet, A; Bauer, A; Arias, JS; Cernanski, A; Bevitt, J; ... Evans, SE; + view all Daza, J; Stanley, EL; Bolet, A; Bauer, A; Arias, JS; Cernanski, A; Bevitt, J; Wagner, P; Evans, SE; - view fewer (2020) Enigmatic amphibians in mid-Cretaceous amber were chameleon-like ballistic feeders. Science , 370 (6517) pp. 687-691. 10.1126/science.abb6005.

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Text 2020 Enigmatic amphibians in Mid-Cretaceous amber were chameleon-like and had ballistic feeding.pdf - Accepted Version Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Albanerpetontids are tiny, enigmatic fossil amphibians with a distinctive suite of characteristics, including scales and specialized jaw and neck joints. Here we describe a new genus and species of albanerpetontid, represented by fully articulated and three-dimensional specimens preserved in amber. These specimens preserve skeletal and soft tissues, including an elongated median hyoid element, the tip of which remains embedded in a distal tongue pad. This arrangement is very similar to the long, rapidly projecting tongue of chameleons. Our results thus suggest that albanerpetontids were sit-and-wait ballistic tongue feeders, extending the record of this specialized feeding mode by around 100 million years.

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