SANTIAGO: A large frog species that hopped alongside dinosaurs and is taken into account a “dwelling fossil” is now shedding floor in its native Chile as local weather change and human intervention injury its habitat.
The Calyptocephallela gayi, or Helmeted Water Toad, is without doubt one of the largest frogs on the earth, rising as much as over 30cm in size and weighing as much as 1kg.
The amphibian has seen little genetic variation for hundreds of thousands of years, however now its future is in danger, scientists say.
“It is unhappy {that a} species that managed to coexist with dinosaurs, that managed to withstand a mass extinction, is now threatened by human beings,” mentioned Melissa Cancino, a veterinarian and founding father of Proyecto Anfibia, a bunch devoted to amphibian analysis and training in Chile.
