Eopelobates

Eopelobates
Temporal range:
Eopelobates wagneri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pelobatidae
Genus: Eopelobates
Parker, 1929
Species
  • Eopelobates anthracinus Parker, 1929
  • Eopelobates bayeri Spinar, 1952
  • Eopelobates grandis Zweifel, 1956
  • Eopelobates hiuschei (Kuhn, 1941)
  • Eopelobates wagneri (Weitzel, 1938)
Synonyms
  • Propelodytes wagneri Weitzel, 1938[1]

Eopelobates is an extinct genus of frogs in the family Pelobatidae.[2] Closely related to the living European spadefoot toad, it is known from the Eocene of western North America, and the Eocene–Pliocene of Europe.

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

Biogeochemical analysis of Eopelobates wagneri from the Messel Formation shows that it was a tertiary consumer based on it δ15N values. This is consistent with observed fossil evidence of it feeding on lizards, which have been preserved in the bromalites of this Eopelobates species.[3]

Palaeobiogeography

It is suggested that the distribution over both Europe and North America is due to dispersal during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.[4]

References

  1. ^ "†Eopelobates wagneri Weitzel 1938". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ "†Eopelobates Parker 1929". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. ^ Schweizer, Maia K.; Steele, Andrew; Toporski, Jan K. W.; Fogel, Marilyn L. (December 2007). "Stable isotopic evidence for fossil food webs in Eocene Lake Messel". Paleobiology. 33 (4): 590–609. doi:10.1666/05079.1. ISSN 0094-8373. Retrieved 25 January 2026 – via Cambridge Core.
  4. ^ Roček, Zbyněk; Wuttke, Michael; Gardner, James D.; Singh Bhullar, Bhart-Anjan (2014). "The Euro-American genus Eopelobates, and a re-definition of the family Pelobatidae (Amphibia, Anura)". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 94 (4): 529–567. Bibcode:2014PdPe...94..529R. doi:10.1007/s12549-014-0169-5. ISSN 1867-1594.