Platymantis megabotoniviti is an extinct species of frogs in the family Ceratobatrachidae. The species was described from bones of late Quaternary age from caves on Viti Levu, Fiji.[1] P. megabotoniviti is much larger than the other two species of Platymantis known from Fiji, P. vitianus and P. vitiensis.
Platymantis megabotoniviti Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Ceratobatrachidae |
Genus: | Platymantis |
Species: | †P. megabotoniviti
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Binomial name | |
†Platymantis megabotoniviti Worthy, 2001
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This frog was larger than other frogs in the genus Platymantis. Scientists have dated their extinction to after the arrival of humans in Fiji and speculate that it may have fallen prey to invasive rodents.[2][1]
References
edit- ^ a b Worthy, Trevor H. (2001). "A new species of Platymantis (Anura: Ceratobatrachidae) from Quaternary deposits on Viti Levu, Fiji". Palaeontology. 44 (4): 665–680. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00197.
- ^ "Giant Fiji Ground Frog, Platymantis megabotonivit". Museum of New Zealand. Retrieved April 7, 2023.