Hyperossification
Hyperossification is when there is much more bone material on a bone than usual. Hyperossification is found in frogs. Many frogs have smooth skulls, but some frogs have skulls that only look smooth from the outside. Under their skins, their skulls have spikes, ridges, flanges, or unusual neck joints.[1][2][3]
Even frogs that did not come from the same ancestor evolved big, spiky skulls if they ate the same other animals: usually animals almost as big as they were, like birds and mice. Scientists say this is because big, strong skulls let the frogs have big mouths and strong jaws that are good for catching big prey.[2] Other frogs have spikes inside their skin to protect from predators. When a bigger animal bumps into the frog's head, the spikes break open sacs full of venom under the frog's skin, and this protects the frog from being eaten.[2]
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Name
The word hyperossification means "a lot of bonemaking."
References
- ↑ Susan E. Evans; Joseph R. Groenke; Marc E. H. Jones; Alan H. Turner; David W. Krause (January 28, 2014). "New Material of Beelzebufo, a Hyperossified Frog (Amphibia: Anura) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar". PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e87236. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0087236. PMC 3905036. PMID 24489877.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Florida Museum of Natural History (March 23, 2020). Skulls gone wild: How and why some frogs evolved extreme heads. Eurekalert.org. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/fmon-sgw032020.php. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ↑ Clemente-Carvalho RB; Antoniazzi MM; Jared C; Haddad CF; Alves AC; Rocha HS; Pereira GR; Oliveira DF; Lopes RT; Dos Reis SF (June 23, 2009). "Hyperossification in miniaturized toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae): Microscopic structure and macroscopic patterns of variation". Journal of Morphology. 270 (11): 1285–1295. doi:10.1002/jmor.10755. PMID 19551869. S2CID 7222760. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
