Eopelobates


Eopelobates is an extinct genus of frogs in the family Pelobatidae. Closely related to the living European spadefoot toad, it is known from the Eocene of western North America, and the Eocene–Pliocene of Europe.

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

Biogeochemical analysis of Eopelobates wagneri from the Messel Formation shows that it was a tertiary consumer based on it δ15N values. This is consistent with observed fossil evidence of it feeding on lizards, which have been preserved in the bromalites of this Eopelobates species.

Palaeobiogeography

It is suggested that the distribution over both Europe and North America is due to dispersal during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.