Early Cretaceous neobatrachian frog (Anura) from Brazil sheds light on the origin of modern anurans.

The fossil record of anurans in South America is scarse, especially for Mesozoic-aged beds. The aim of the present paper is to describe a new neobatrachian anuran coming from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation from Brazil. The specimen, represented by a nearly complete skeleton is reminiscent to the extant clade Hyloidea. In contrast with recent claims, this finding, together with previously known fossils from South America indicates that modern frog clades were present and well-diversified by 40 million years before the K/T boundary. In the same sense, the analysis of Mesozoic and Paleogene anuran record in South America contradicts the hypothesis of massive anuran extinction at the K/T boundary. • A new neobatrachian anuran coming from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation from Brazil is described. • Present record constitutes an important addition to the scarse fossils of Mesozoic anurans in South America. • Present finding indicates that modern frog clades were well-diversified by 40 million years before the K/T boundary. • In Patagonia, the K/T boundary does not accounts for a massive anuran extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]