Fossils of the giant Beelzebufo from Cretaceous Madagascar suggest that the subfamily may have once ranged throughout the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana.
Geological evidence shows that the Appalachian Mountains, certain mountains of Western Europe, and the Anti-Atlas range in North Africa are parts of the ancient Central Pangean Mountains, made when minor supercontinents collided to form the supercontinent Pangaea more than 250 million years ago.