Creature Offers Clues on Amphibian Evolution
2024-03-26
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1Scientists recently studied the fossil of a creature that lived in what is now the U.S. state of Texas about 270 million years ago.
2They named it Kermitops gratus in honor of Kermit the Frog from the children's television program The Muppets.
3The fossil belongs to a group of animals that are thought to have given rise to modern-day frogs, salamanders, and limbless caecilians.
4Those animals, called amphibians, are creatures that can live both on land and in water.
5And the study offers details into the history of how amphibians have evolved.
6Only the head, or skull, was discovered. It measured around three centimeters long.
7Researchers think the amphibian-like creature had a wide body that was around 15-18 centimeters long.
8Amphibians are one of the four groups of living vertebrates on land.
9The others are reptiles, birds, and mammals.
10Special details, or features, on the Kermitops skull are providing researchers with more information about the history of amphibians.
11Calvin So is a George Washington University doctoral student.
12And he is the lead writer of the study recently released in the publication Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
13So said Kermitops helps researchers understand the early history of amphibians by showing there is not a clear history "of step by step becoming more like the modern amphibian."
14The fossil was collected in 1984 near Lake Kemp in Texas.
15It was kept in the large collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
16But it was not fully studied until recently.
17Kermitops had facial features that were similar to frogs and salamanders.
18But it had palpebral bones or eyelid bones, that are not found in modern amphibians.
19So said, "The length of the skull in front of the eyes is longer than the length of the skull behind the eyes, which differs from the other fossil amphibians living at the same time."
20He added that it might have enabled Kermitops to close its mouth faster than others to capture insects as food.
21So added, "We really thought it looked like Kermit the Frog."
22That led researchers to name it Kermitops, meaning "Kermit face."
23Kermitops lived about 20 million years before the worst mass die-off, or extinction, in Earth's history.
24And it appeared about 40 million years before the first dinosaurs.
25It lived alongside other members that formed the amphibian group.
26The environment in which Kermitops lived appears to have changed back and forth between warm and wet seasons and hot and dry seasons.
27So said, "This environment would be similar to modern-day monsoons that take place in the Southwest U.S. and Southeast Asia."
28The fossil record of early amphibians and their ancestors is not complete.
29That makes it difficult to understand the beginnings of modern amphibians.
30Arjan Mann of the National Museum of Natural History helped write the study.
31He said Kermitops shows the importance "of continuing to add new fossil data to understanding this evolutionary problem."
32I'm Gena Bennett.
1Scientists recently studied the fossil of a creature that lived in what is now the U.S. state of Texas about 270 million years ago. They named it Kermitops gratus in honor of Kermit the Frog from the children's television program The Muppets. 2The fossil belongs to a group of animals that are thought to have given rise to modern-day frogs, salamanders, and limbless caecilians. Those animals, called amphibians, are creatures that can live both on land and in water. 3And the study offers details into the history of how amphibians have evolved. 4Only the head, or skull, was discovered. It measured around three centimeters long. Researchers think the amphibian-like creature had a wide body that was around 15-18 centimeters long. 5Amphibians are one of the four groups of living vertebrates on land. The others are reptiles, birds, and mammals. Special details, or features, on the Kermitops skull are providing researchers with more information about the history of amphibians. 6Calvin So is a George Washington University doctoral student. And he is the lead writer of the study recently released in the publication Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 7So said Kermitops helps researchers understand the early history of amphibians by showing there is not a clear history "of step by step becoming more like the modern amphibian." 8The fossil was collected in 1984 near Lake Kemp in Texas. It was kept in the large collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But it was not fully studied until recently. 9Kermitops had facial features that were similar to frogs and salamanders. But it had palpebral bones or eyelid bones, that are not found in modern amphibians. 10So said, "The length of the skull in front of the eyes is longer than the length of the skull behind the eyes, which differs from the other fossil amphibians living at the same time." He added that it might have enabled Kermitops to close its mouth faster than others to capture insects as food. 11So added, "We really thought it looked like Kermit the Frog." That led researchers to name it Kermitops, meaning "Kermit face." 12Kermitops lived about 20 million years before the worst mass die-off, or extinction, in Earth's history. And it appeared about 40 million years before the first dinosaurs. It lived alongside other members that formed the amphibian group. 13The environment in which Kermitops lived appears to have changed back and forth between warm and wet seasons and hot and dry seasons. 14So said, "This environment would be similar to modern-day monsoons that take place in the Southwest U.S. and Southeast Asia." 15The fossil record of early amphibians and their ancestors is not complete. That makes it difficult to understand the beginnings of modern amphibians. 16Arjan Mann of the National Museum of Natural History helped write the study. He said Kermitops shows the importance "of continuing to add new fossil data to understanding this evolutionary problem." 17I'm Gena Bennett. 18Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19_________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21fossil - n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks 22amphibian - n. an animal (such as a frog or toad) that can live both on land and in water 23evolution - n. the process by which changes in plants and animals happen over time 24vertebrate - n. an animal that has a backbone 25monsoon - n. a wind in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia that brings heavy rains in the summer