| Maud Island frog | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Leiopelmatidae |
| Genus: | Leiopelma |
| Species: | L. pakeka |
| Binomial name | |
| Leiopelma pakeka Bell, Daugherty & Hay, 1998 | |
 | |
| Range of Maud Island Frog | |
The Maud Island frog (Leiopelma pakeka) has been recently been synonymised with Hamilton's frog (Leiopelma hamiltoni)
Leiopelma pakeka was a small terrestrial frog, growing to 5 cm in length, and is medium to dark brown with unwebbed toes and a distinctive extended ridge behind its eyes. It is slightly larger than and differs slightly in colour from Hamilton's frog ( Leiopelma hamiltoni ).
Like other members of the genus Leiopelma , Maud Island frogs lay their eggs on moist ground. One to 19 eggs are laid in December, and are guarded by the male for 14–21 weeks. The eggs hatch into froglets, which the male carries on his back until they become independent. [2]
Long-term studies beginning in 1983 have revealed this species is extremely long-lived: some monitored frogs reach 35–40 years old, making them the longest-lived wild frog in the world. [3] Individuals are well-camouflaged and sedentary, spending their whole lives within a 30-m2 area and moving the centre of their home range only 1.3 m every 10 years – one of the smallest home ranges known for any vertebrate. [4]
The Maud Island frog (Leiopelma pakeka) has been recently been synonymised with Hamilton's frog (Leiopelma hamiltoni)
The frogs on Maud Island in Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, Marlborough, were discovered in 1940 and formally reported in 1958; they resembled L. hamiltoni found on nearby Stephens Island and were considered to be a subpopulation of that species. [5] [6] In 1998, an analysis of the muscle proteins (allozymes) of L. hamiltoni from both islands showed enough differences that the Maud Island population was designated a separate species, name L.pakeka from the Māori word for Maud Island. [6] This then meant that the total world population of L. hamiltoni was less than 300 individuals living in a small pile of rocks on Stephens Island. [6]
Recent studies of mtDNA from all four extant Leiopelma species do not support the results of the allozyme analysis, however; the genetic difference between L. pakeka and L. hamiltoni is no greater than that seen between different populations of Archey's frog (L. archeyi), which calls into question the designation of the Maud Island frog as a separate species. [7] A similar conflict between blood allozymes and DNA led to the lumping of the Brothers Island tuatara (Sphenodon guntheri) back into Sphenodon punctatus. [8]
L. pakeka is classed as taxonomically indistinct in the 2017 version of the New Zealand Threat Classification System, due to three independent genetic analyses finding it to be minimally differentiated from Hamilton's frog. [9] In the prior edition of the New Zealand Threat Classification, L. pakeka was classified as both taxonomically indeterminate and Nationally Vulnerable. [10]
The entire species was initially confined to a 16-ha forest remnant on 309-ha Maud Island. [2] Although its population on Maud Island is estimated to be 27,500–39,500, conservation has focused on establishing new populations on different islands, because the species is still vulnerable to fungal disease, natural disaster, climate change, or the arrival of mammalian predators. [3] Maud Island suffered an incursion of mice in 2013, but these were eradicated and the island was declared predator-free in November 2016. [11]
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Meet the Locals (TVNZ video showing Maud Island and L. pakeka) |
In 1984–85 100 frogs were transferred by the Department of Conservation to a different part of Maud Island, successfully starting a new colony. [2] Three hundred were translocated 25 km to Motuara Island in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1997 – the first time New Zealand frogs had been translocated between islands. [12] This was more successful than a 2006 translocation of 100 to nearby Long Island; Motuara contained better habitat and frogs there were protected by a kiwi-proof fence. [3]
In 2006, 60 Maud Island frogs were released into the predator-proof Karori Wildlife Sanctuary near Wellington, and 100 more in 2012. Most of the frogs were released in a kiwi- and mouse-proof enclosure, but 29 were placed outside the enclosure so that a comparative study could be done. In February 2008, 13 froglets were discovered clinging to adult males inside the enclosure. [13] Those outside the enclosure mostly disappeared. [3]
Tuatara are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back".
The Lepidosauria is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata contains over 9,000 species, making it by far the most species-rich and diverse order of reptiles in the present day. Rhynchocephalia was a formerly widespread and diverse group of reptiles in the Mesozoic Era. However, it is represented by only one living species: the tuatara, a superficially lizard-like reptile native to New Zealand.
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 lineage. While some taxonomists have suggested combining the North American frogs of the genus Ascaphus in the family Ascaphidae 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.
Cyanoramphus malherbi, usually known as the orange-fronted parakeet in New Zealand or Malherbe's parakeet internationally, is a small parrot endemic to New Zealand. In New Zealand it is always known as the orange-fronted parakeet, a name it shares with a species from Central America, while in the rest of the world it is known as Malherbe's parakeet. Restricted to a few valleys in the South Island and four offshore islands, its population declined to around 200 in the 1990s, and it is considered critically endangered.
Maud Island is one of the larger islands in the Marlborough Sounds on the northeastern tip of the South Island of New Zealand, with a total area of 320 ha.
Hochstetter's frog or Hochstetter's New Zealand frog 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 features of any extant frogs in the world.
Archey's frog 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 former director of the Auckland Institute. The holotype is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. It is found only in the Coromandel Peninsula and near Te Kuiti in the North Island of New Zealand. This species, along with others in the family, have changed little over the past 200 million years, thus they represent "living fossils".
The Hamilton's frog 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 the eggs to protect them and allows the tadpoles to climb onto his back where they are kept moist. It is named in honour of Harold Hamilton the collector of the type specimen. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Duvaucel's gecko is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
The chevron skink, is a large species of skink endemic to New Zealand, found only on Great and Little Barrier islands in the Hauraki Gulf. A cryptic forest dweller, it can hide underwater, and is under threat from introduced rats.
The harlequin gecko, formerly Hoplodactylus rakiurae, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south of New Zealand, where it was discovered in 1969. In terms of distribution it is one of the southernmost gecko species in the world.
Deinacrida rugosa, commonly called the Cook Strait giant weta or Stephens Island weta, is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae. The scientific name Deinacrida means "terrible grasshopper" and rugosa means "wrinkled". It is endemic to New Zealand.
Oligosoma taumakae, the Open Bay Island(s) skink, or Taumaka skink, is a species of skink. It was described from the Open Bay Islands, off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Deinacrida carinata, also known as the Herekopare wētā or Foveaux wētā is one of the smallest of the 11 species of giant wētā that belong to the genus Deinacrida, and is a member of the Anostostomatidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand and is currently restricted to a few offshore predator free islands: Herekopare Island, Kundy Island, Tihaka/Pig Island and Whenua Hou/Codfish Island. D.carinata is a protected species and is nationally endangered.
Markham's frog is one of three extinct New Zealand frog species, the others being the Aurora frog and Waitomo frog. Subfossil bones used to describe the species were discovered at Honeycomb Hill Cave, South Island, New Zealand, but it once occurred on both South and North Islands. It is estimated that it grew between 50 and 60 mm from snout to vent and it appears to have been a very robust animal.
The Waitomo frog is an extinct species of the genus Leiopelma from New Zealand.
The Te Kakahu skink is a critically endangered species of skink native to New Zealand. When discovered, the entire species was inhabiting a single patch of clifftop vegetation on Chalky Island in Fiordland National Park.
Amychus granulatus, commonly known as the Cook Strait click beetle, is a large flightless click beetle in the family Elateridae.
Alison Marion Cree is a New Zealand herpetologist. She is currently a professor at Otago University.
Archaeocroton sphenodonti, or the tuatara tick, is a species of tick that parasitises only the tuatara of New Zealand. It is found on just four of the twelve island groups where tuatara survive, preferring islands where the reptiles live in high densities. Larvae, nymphs, and adults all feed exclusively on tuatara blood, and ticks can survive for up to a year without a host. When tuatara are translocated, the tick has been lost or survives only in low densities in the new population.
