Splayed out like a dissected animal in a high school biology
class, this fossil leaves little doubt as to what kind of creature it once was.
Frogs are extremely ancient, dating back some 250 million years. By the time
this animal lived, more than 100 million years later, numerous species of frogs
likely rested on the muddy shores of Liaoning's lakes, though fossil
hunters have yet identified only a few. Some of these species appear closely
akin to frogs now hopping about Asia, Europe, and North Africa—and even
savored as culinary treats in modern-day Liaoning.