Giant fossilized frog named after Satan

Paleontologists have discovered a giant frog in Madagascar that lived 65-70 milllion years ago. My favorite part of the story is that they named the frog Beelzebufo. This devil of a frog measured around 20 centimeters across and was 40 centimeters long. From Nature News:

The team couldn’t piece together a complete skeleton, but did get a nearly complete picture of the skull, which was “short and fat with a huge mouth", says (University College London scientist Susan) Evans.

Similarly-shaped South American frogs have a strong bite and can feast on small vertebrate such as mice and lizards: “Basically, they eat anything smaller that walks by,” Evans says.

Link (Thanks, Vann Hall and Kirsten Anderson!)

[#1 posted by MOONBAT , February 19, 2008 12:13 PM]

It's worth noting Beelzebub did not mean Satan at the time it was written. That came after Christians went through the Jewish scriptures and declared everything evil Satan (including the king of Babylon and the snake in the Garden of Eden).

I'm not saying you're wrong--in common usage today, Beelzebub does mean Satan--just that it's worth noting.

[#2 posted by David Pescovitz , February 19, 2008 12:28 PM]

@Moonbat, Noted! ;)

[#3 posted by Takuan , February 19, 2008 12:34 PM]

back breed and cross with cane toads and we'll finally have a true party frog

[#4 posted by g.park , February 19, 2008 12:35 PM]

@Moonbat-

Beat me to it, well done. Beezlebub, does however translate to "lord of things that fly" or "lord of the flies," which I think is pretty appropriate for something that eats flying insects.

[#5 posted by Apashiol , February 19, 2008 12:56 PM]

@Moonbat-
Originally Beelzebub was Baal Zebul "Baal the Prince" and was probably changed to Baal Zebub by Yahwists in their attempts to degrade and ridicule a pagan deity.

[#6 posted by Daemon , February 19, 2008 1:01 PM]

Originally, Beelzebub was just another god worshipped by semitic people. But his followers and Yahweh's apparently didn't get along, so he was demonized.

Medieval occult literature place Beelzebub in the upper ranks of the hierarchy of hell. Milton seems to have made him Satan's second in command.

[#7 posted by Wareq , February 19, 2008 1:07 PM]

A real lord of the flies.

[#8 posted by ZzmeeY , February 19, 2008 1:55 PM]

Awesome frog! Notedly 'artist's impression' of itself.

[#9 posted by Lone , February 19, 2008 5:33 PM]

"Basically, they eat anything smaller that walks by" So as far as the prehistoric frog goes, pets and small children. Nom nom.