Ancient swamp was a sex death trap for fossil frogs UCC
The watery death trap in the Geiseltal area in central Germany claimed the lives of over 50,000 ancient beasts, including birds, horses, bats, fish and hundreds of. Because of its unique geological features and thousands of fossils, the former coalfield of Geiseltal in Saxony-Anhalt is considered a scientific treasure trove, providing a unique window into how the Earth's plants and animals evolved over millions of years.
Nearly 50 million years ago—the middle Eocene—Earth was much warmer, and the area of Geiseltal was a swampywhose inhabitants included ancestors of the horse, large crocodiles, giant snakes, lizards, ground-dwelling birds and plenty of anurans, which are frogs and toads. Previous studies have suggested that the Geiseltal frogs died during the desiccation of lakes and/or oxygen depletion in the water. But exactly what killed these creatures has long been a mystery—until now.
By studying the bones of the fossil frogs, the UCC team was able to narrow down the options."As far as we can tell, the fossil frogs were healthy when they died, and the bones don't show any signs of predators or scavengers—there's also no evidence that they were washed in during floods, or died because thedried up," said UCC researcher and study leader Daniel Falk.
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