These spiky frog skulls look more like dinosaur fossils
Some frogs, like the Anotheca spinosa, developed spikes on their skull to possibly keep away predators. (Edward Stanley/)Some frogs love the water; some prefer dry land. Some are colored to stick out, some to blend in. There are nearly 5,000 different species of frogs hopping, croaking, and swimming across the Earth of all different shapes and sizes. But one thing that unites most of them is a smooth, simple skull shape, giving them the classic froggy face we’ve all come to recognize.Yet some frogs have evolved skulls that look more like crazy dinosaur fossils than your average Kermit. A process called hyperossification allows extra layers of bone to grow on parts of their skulls, creating anything from grooves or ridges to bony spikes or fangs.Researchers have known for a long time about the select groups of amphibians that have these unusual skulls, but it wasn’t previously clear how these subgroups...