#barbourula

[herpsandbirds]

Philippine Flat-headed Frog (Barbourula busuangensis), family Bombinatoridae, endemic to parts of the Philippines

photographs by Marta Miñarro

[markscherz]

My mother and I have two masters degrees between us and yet somehow we could not figure out if frogs have lungs or not.

Can you help settle the debate?

All frogs have lungs except one! The bizarre Barbourula kalimantanensis is the only known frog to lack lungs. It makes up for this by being heckin' flat, basically imitating the bizarre pipids.

[frogs-from-bogs]

Barbourula busuangensis by Robin Moore

[cheetahtrout]

A piece I originally did for the Saurian artbook. It wasnt accepted, because despite its high resemblence of a snapping turtle, it got recently suggested that it may have been a full on land-turtle. Basilemys observing its potential prey in a shallow riverbed. All animals visible here lived during the cretacious period and have been found in the hell creek formation. Basilemys (turtle) Barbourula (frog) Belonostomus (fish) Pleurobema (mussels)