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New research looking at some ancient fossils uncovers a new species of amphibians. The animal belonged to the albanerpetontid family and provides the oldest known evidence of a slingshot-style tongue.
The fossils had previously been analyzed and mistakenly interpreted as belonging to a species of ancient chameleons. However, the new study shows that despite having lizard-like claws, scales and tails, albanerpetontids (or ‘albies’) were actually amphibians. They belonged to a different lineage from modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. This lineage developed for about 165 million years and became extinct about 2 million years ago.
The fossils described in this study are roughly 99 million years old and help show how albies hunted: stalking potential prey and then flinging their tongues at them, similar to modern chameleons. This fossil specimen (previously misidentified as an early chameleon) is the first albie discovered in present-day Myanmar and the only known example in amber. The species was baptized Yaksha perettii, after the treasure guardian spirits known as yakshas in Hindu literature and Adolf Peretti, who discovered the fossil.
Don’t judge a fossil by its tongue
“This discovery adds a great piece to the puzzle of this dark group of strange little animals,” said study co-author Edward Stanley, director of the Laboratory of Digital Dissemination and Discovery at the Florida Museum of Natural History. “Knowing that they had this ballistic tongue gives us a completely new understanding of this entire lineage.”
The initial misidentification of the species came down to the fossils it was described for: a juvenile individual with a hodgepodge of features, including a specialized tongue bone. The paper describing them sparked an international collaboration to better identify the fossils, after Susan Evans, professor of vertebrate morphology and paleontology at University College London and an albie expert, recognized some of the features. Along with Peretti, the researchers sent the specimen along with similar ones wrapped in amber to the University of Texas at Austin for a computed tomography (CT) scan.
The amber-encased specimen was found to be in “perfect condition” (which tends to be rare in albies). He was also, thankfully, an adult counterpart to the minor who had previously been misidentified.
“Everything was where it was supposed to be. There was even some soft tissue, ”says Evans.
The excellent quality of the specimen allowed the team to dispel some erroneous assumptions about the species. Their reinforced skulls have led researchers to hypothesize that they were a species of burrowing salamanders. Several other shared features, most notably their claws, scales, and large eye sockets, were also reminiscent of reptiles. It is likely that the albie also had a ballistic tongue similar to that of today’s chameleons.
Based on the skull, the researchers estimate that Y. perettii it was about 2 inches long, not including the tail. The juvenile was a quarter that size. It relied on its fast tongue (the chameleon’s tongue can go 0-60 mph in a hundredth of a second, being one of the fastest muscles in the animal kingdom) to hunt insects, and would otherwise try to stay hidden in undergrowth. , create the team.
Its predatory nature and projectile tongue also help explain its other “weird and wonderful” features, including unusual jaw and neck joints and large, future-oriented eye sockets. They also likely breathed through the skin like salamanders do, but this is not yet confirmed.
Although the specimens were in excellent condition, the team is unsure where they fit in the amphibian family tree due to their unusual combination of characteristics.
“In theory, albies could give us a clue as to what the ancestors of modern amphibians looked like,” says Evan. “Unfortunately, they are so specialized and so strange in their own way that they are not helping us much.”
Albies are not known to have survived to modern times, but they only vanished about 2 million years ago, meaning they could have interbred with our earlier hominin relatives.
“We just miss them. I keep hoping they are still alive somewhere, ”Evan adds.
The article “The enigmatic amphibians of the middle Cretaceous amber were ballistic feeders similar to chameleons” has been published in the journal Sciences.
