Science News Roundup: Before becoming frozen wasteland, Antarctica was home to frogs

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Before becoming frozen wasteland, Antarctica was home to frogs

When paleontologist Thomas Mörs was peering into a microscope while sorting through tiny 40 million-year-old fossils unearthed on Seymour Island near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, he came across quite a surprise - hip and skull bones of a frog. The little amphibian from the Eocene Epoch was a helmeted frog - about 1-1/2 inches (4 cm) long - closely related to five species of helmeted frogs still native to Chile. These frogs get their name from the shape of their heads.