__NOTOC__ ''Leiopelma'' is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Archaeobatrachia Archaeobatrachia (New Latin ''archaeo-'' ("old") + ''batrachia'' ("frog")) is a suborder of the order Frog, Anura containing various primitive frogs and toads. As the name suggests, these are the most primitive frogs. Many of the species (28 in t ...

. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient lineage. While some taxonomists have suggested combining the North American frogs of the genus ''Ascaphus'' in the family

Ascaphidae The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus ''Ascaphus'', the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting th ...

with the New Zealand frogs of the genus ''Leiopelma'' in the family Leiopelmatidae, the current consensus is that these two groups constitute two separate families. The four extant species of Leiopelmatidae are only found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Overview

The New Zealand primitive frogs' defining characteristics are their extra

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

(for a total of nine) and the remains of the tail

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

s (the tail itself is absent in adults, although it is present in the younger frogs, which need the extra skin surface until their lungs are fully developed). The family Ascaphidae (found only in North America), of the same suborder, shares these primitive characteristics, hence the two have often been described as related, or even part of the same family. Late jump recovery is unique in Leiopelmatidae. When leiopelmatid species jump, they land in a "belly flop" fashion, repositioning their limbs for takeoff for the next jump only after hitting the ground with the ventral surface of their torsos. The appearance of early jump recovery in more advanced taxa is a

key innovation In evolutionary biology, a key innovation, also known as an adaptive breakthrough or key adaptation, is a novel phenotypic trait that allows subsequent radiation and success of a taxonomic group. Typically they bring new abilities that allows the ta ...

in anuran evolution. They are unusually small frogs, only in length. Most species lay their eggs in moist ground, typically under rocks or vegetation. After hatching, the

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s nest in the male's back, all without the need for standing or flowing water. However,

Hochstetter's frog Hochstetter's frog or Hochstetter's New Zealand frog (''Leiopelma hochstetteri'') is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the taxonomic family Leiopelmatidae. They possess some of the most ancient f ...

lays its eggs in shallow ponds and has free-living tadpoles, although they do not swim far from the place of hatching, or even feed, before metamorphosing into adult frogs. Lifespans may be long (more than 30 years) for such small organisms. Introduced fauna are thought to have had a negative impact on these native frogs, with 93% of all reported predation events on native frogs being attributed to introduced fauna, primarily

ship rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

Taxonomy & Systematics

Species

Family Leiopelmatidae * Genus ''Leiopelma'' **

Archey's frog Archey's frog (''Leiopelma archeyi'') is an archaic species of frog endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of only three extant species belonging to the taxonomic family Leiopelmatidae. It is named after Sir Gilbert Archey, the f ...

, ''Leiopelma archeyi'' Turbott, 1942 **

Hamilton's frog The Hamilton's frog ''(Leiopelma hamiltoni)'' is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae. New Zealand's frog species all are in the family Leiopelmatidae. The male remains with ...

, ''Leiopelma hamiltoni'' McCulloch, 1919 **

, ''Leiopelma hochstetteri'' Fitzinger, 1861 **

Maud Island frog __NOTOC__ The Maud Island frog (''Leiopelma pakeka'') is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae. Description ''Leiopelma pakeka'' is a small terrestrial frog, growing to 5& ...

, ''Leiopelma pakeka'' Bell, Daugherty & Hay, 1998

Extinct species

Three extinct species are known by

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

remains, also from New Zealand. They became extinct during the past 1,000 years. * †Aurora frog, ''

Leiopelma auroraensis ''Leiopelma auroraensis'', known as the Aurora frog, is an extinct species of frog that was found in New Zealand. One subfossil of the Aurora frog has been discovered in the Aurora Cave, Fiordland, New Zealand. It measured about 60 mm from t ...

'' * †Markham's frog,''

Leiopelma markhami Markham's frog (''Leiopelma markhami'') is one of three extinct New Zealand frog species, the others being the Aurora frog (''Leiopelma auroraensis'') and Waitomo frog (''Leiopelma waitomoensis''). Subfossil bones used to describe the species ...

'' * †Waitomo frog, '' Leiopelma waitomoensis'' One species from the late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Leiopelma bishopi __NOTOC__ ''Leiopelma'' is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient l ...

'' Easton, Tennyson and Rawlence, 2021 Two species are known from

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

deposits of the

Saint Bathans fauna The St Bathans fauna is found in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group of Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It comprises a suite of fossilised prehistoric animals from the late Early Miocene (Altonian) period, ...

, with indeterminate remains possibly representing additional species * †''

Leiopelma miocaenale __NOTOC__ ''Leiopelma'' is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient l ...

'' * †''

Leiopelma acricarina __NOTOC__ ''Leiopelma'' is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient l ...

Evolutionary history

DNA analysis indicates that Leiopelmatidae share a distant common ancestry with

to the exclusion of all other frogs, and Leiopelmatidae and Ascaphidae diverged from all other frogs around 200 million years ago. ''L. archeyi'' and ''L. hochstetteri'' are thought to have diverged from each other between 40 and 50 million years ago, based on genomic divergence estimates. Fossils of the genus are known from the early

(19-16 million years ago) aged

St Bathans Fauna The St Bathans fauna is found in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group of Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It comprises a suite of fossilised prehistoric animals from the late Early Miocene (Altonian) period, w ...

of New Zealand.

References

External links

New Zealand Frog Conservation Biology
- research on New Zealand frog biology {{Taxonbar, from=Q55477 Leiopelmatidae Amphibians of New Zealand Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger Monogeneric amphibian families Extant Burdigalian first appearances Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic amphibians of New Zealand