Beelzebufo

Very recently, a team of researchers in Madagascar came a cross the fossil of what could possibly be the biggest frog that ever lived.  The frog is larger than a beach ball and would have weighed well over ten pounds.  This frog has officially been named Beelzebufo, or "devil frog."  Beelzebufo is closely related to a group of frogs from South Africa called the ceratophyrines, or pac man frogs, because of their huge mouths.  But how could a giant prehistoric frog from Madagascar be related to a group of frogs in South America?  Scientists believe that there was a land connection between the two regions back in the  Cretaceous period.  In fact, most researchers believe that during one point in time, Antarctica, South America, and Madagascar were all one land mass! 

Beelzebufo is, without a doubt, one of the largest frogs on record and was perhaps the largest frog ever to exist.  Due to its size, appearance, and predatory nature,  the discoverers refer to it as the armored frog from hell.  Not only was the frog huge, it was powerful, had a protective shield, an extremely wide mouth and powerful jaws.  Because of these amazing features, Beelzebufu was capable of killing and eating  a variety of small animals, such as lizards.  They were even able to eat hatching dinosaurs!  By comparison, the largest living frog today is the Goliath frog from West Africa, which can be 12.5 inches long and weigh about 7.2 pounds. The largest frog alive on Madagascar today is just over four inches long.