Abstract

ABSTRACT Enigmatic frog ilia were recovered from two geographically and temporally disparate fossil sites in South Africa, namely the Early Pliocene (5.1 Ma) fossil site of Langebaanweg (south-western Cape), and Cooper’s Cave D (Northern province), which dates to around 1.38 Ma. The fossil ilia appear to represent an extinct anuran genus that subsisted in southern Africa over several million years, had a previously undocumented mode of locomotion, and possibly exceptional jumping ability. Relative to extant anurans, the fossil ilia show a unique suite of characteristics pertaining to the acetabulum, dorsal protuberance, ventral ridge of the shaft, and dorsal crest; features which would have facilitated and stabilised jumping.

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