The neobatrachian genus Calyptocephalella Strand, closely allied to the Australian myobatrachoids in recent molecular analyses, is now restricted to lowland water bodies of the Austral forests of Chile but had a broader distribution according to paleontological data. New, well-preserved material from the early Miocene locality Estancia Baibián, Chubut Province, Argentina, is described herein and assigned to Calyptocephalella canqueli Schaeffer, a species erected on the basis of Deseadan (late Oligocene) specimens, but subsequently synonymized with the only living species, Calyptocephalella gayi Duméril and Bibron. Detailed comparisons suggest that Calyptocephalella canqueli is a valid taxon representing frogs that inhabited Patagonia east of the Andes in... |