A GIANT prehistoric frog dubbed “Devil Toad” once roamed around the island of Madagascar terrorising rodents and eating baby dinosaurs.
One of the largest species that ever existed, the Beelzebufo frog was a wild predator with a bite force as strong as a female tiger.
The now-extinct amphibian lived some 68 million years – and has been described by scientists as an “ill-tempered” and aggressive species.
Inhabiting the land of Madagascar, the wild beast could grow up to 16 inches in length – almost the size of a medium-breed dog such as a Fox terrier.
To study how the beast attacked with such an impressive bite force, scientists teamed up with pathologists to study the Horned frogs of South America – a similar species that lives today.
The horned frogs, also called Pacman frogs due to their large head size, are often found in tropical and subtropical moist lowlands.
With a head size of about 3.9 inches, the horned frogs can bite with force up to almost 500 newtons.
Researchers in 2017 did a scaling experiment studying the horned frogs to find out the estimated bite force of the now-extinct Beelzebufo frogs.
Based on the calculations, experts found that Beelzebufo, who had a head size greater than the horned frogs, could bite with force up to 2200 newtons – similar to that of a wolf or a baby tiger.
And with that much strength, scientists said the giant predator possibly attacked small dinosaurs.
Dr Marc Jones, a researcher at the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences. said: “At this bite force, Beelzebufo would have been capable of subduing the small and juvenile dinosaurs that shared its environment.
“And their powerful jaws play a critical role in grabbing and subduing the prey.”
Scientists concluded that, unlike other species of frogs and toads, Beelzebufo had a much stronger jaw – and would ambush animals as large as themselves – sometimes bigger.
Kristopher Lappin, a professor of biological sciences at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, said: “The bite of a large Beelzebufo would have been remarkable, definitely not something I would want to experience firsthand.”
Scientists first told the world about the “devil toad” in 2008 – almost a decade after bizarre fossil bits of the predator were first found.
Prof Susan Evans, who studied Beezebufo at UCL, said: “This frog would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach ball, with short legs and a big mouth.
“If it shared the aggressive temperament and ‘sit-and-wait’ ambush tactics of living Horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals.
“Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs.”
