The Associated Press sent out a story that has made the rounds of news outlets today about the discovery of the bones of a giant prehistoric toad in Madagascar. Nicknamed the “Devil Toad” or Beelzebufo, it weighed in excess of 10 pounds, the largest current living frog the Goliath Frog can get up to about 7 pounds. It is believed the Devil Toad was capable of taking down small dinosaurs. Also of interest is the similarity between the the Beezlebufo and current toads in South America on the other side of the world. It’s led to renewed speculation about prehistoric geography.
While I’m here, here’s an older story I have been holding onto for awhile. Back in September it was announced that Japanese scientists had created a transparent frog. Their reasoning for prompting the transparency mutation was so that the organs would be visible without dissection for educational purposes and general coolness. Professor Masayuki Sumida whose team bred the frogs has hopes that with further experimentation they will be able to create a frog that will glow when it develops cancer. Sumida plans to patent the transparent frog technology.