All of the amphibians of New Zealand are either from the endemic genus ''

Leiopelma __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 li ...

'' or are one of the introduced species, of which three are

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

. Pepeketua is the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

word.

Unique characteristics

Members of the genus ''Leiopelma'' exhibit a number of basal traits that separate them from most other species. These traits include: vestigial tail-wagging muscles, cartilaginous inscriptional ribs, the presence of amphicoelous vertebrae, and nine presachral vertebrae (most frogs have eight). In addition, Leiopelma lack external ear drums and produce only limited vocalizations.

Species

Native

Introduced

References

External links

New Zealand Frog Conservation Biology
- research on New Zealand frog biology
New Zealand Frog Research Group
- information and resources on frog conservation from the University of Otago
EcoGecko
- New Zealand herpetology consultant/research
Frogs
at the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frogs Of New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...