biology

Notobatrachus

Notobatrachus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Notobatrachus rather than just read about it. In short: Notobatrachus is an extinct genus of frog from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) Cañadon Asfalto Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin and Middle Jurassic La Matilde Formation, Deseado Massif of Patagonia, Argentina. N. degiustoi is the most completely known Jurassic frog and has been recorded in many outcrops of the La Matilde Formation of the Deseado Massif in southern Patagonia.

Key takeaways

Notobatrachus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Notobatrachus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Notobatrachus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Notobatrachus is an extinct genus of frog from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) Cañadon Asfalto Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin and Middle Jurassic La Matilde Formation, Deseado Massif of Patagonia, Argentina. N. degiustoi is the most completely known Jurassic frog and has been recorded in many outcrops of the La Matilde Formation of the Deseado Massif in southern Patagonia.

Description Most of the specimens of N. degiustoi are post-metamorphic individuals, with the largest individuals reaching body lengths of 15 centimetres (5.9 in), making them among the largest known frogs of the Mesozoic era, and comparable in size to many large modern frogs. CPBA-V-14003 consists of disarticulated cranial and postcranial elements, and may correspond either to a late metamorphosing tadpole or an early post-metamorphic individual. In 2024, a tadpole specimen of N. degiustoi (MPM-PV 23540) was reported from the La Matilde Formation of Argentina, representing the oldest known tadpole and the first stem-anuran larva in the fossil record. Tadpoles of this species reached lengths of 15.9 centimetres (6.3 in), among the largest recorded in frogs living or extinct.

Ecology Notobatrachus degiustoi lived in a floodplain environment that varied from being seasonally wet to seasonally dry. Tadpoles of Notobatrachus degiustoi are thought to have lived in ephemeral ponds that formed and disappeared seasonally. Like many living tadpoles, they are thought to have been filter feeders.

Taxonomy Notobatrachus is thought to be a member of the stem-group of Anura, with all living frogs more closely related to each other than Notobatrachus, though Notobatrachus is more closely related to modern frogs than earlier salientians like Triadobatrachus, Czatkobatrachus, and Prosalirus.

References

Bibliography Báez, Ana María; Nicoli, Laura (2004), "A new look at an old frog: the Jurassic Notobatrachus Reig from Patagonia", Ameghiniana, 41: 257–270, retrieved 2019-03-29 Escapa, I.H.; Sterli, J.; Pol, D.; Nicoli, L. (2008), "Jurassic Tetrapods and Flora of Cañadón Asfalto Formation in Cerro Cóndor Area, Chubut Province" (PDF), Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina, 63 (4): 613–624, retrieved 2019-03-01

Further reading Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (Life of the Past) by Pat Vickers Rich, Thomas Hewitt Rich, Francesco Coffa, and Steven Morton The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia by Michael J. Benton, Mikhail A. Shishkin, David M. Unwin, and Evgenii N. Kurochkin Fossil Frogs and Toads of North America (Life of the Past) by J. Alan Holman

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Notobatrachus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Notobatrachus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Notobatrachus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Notobatrachus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Notobatrachus

In research: Notobatrachus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Notobatrachus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Notobatrachus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibian genera, Archaeobatrachia, Cañadón Asfalto Formation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Notobatrachus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Notobatrachus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Notobatrachus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Notobatrachus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Notobatrachus in simple terms?

Why does Notobatrachus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Notobatrachus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Notobatrachus.