Leiopelmatidae

(Leiopelmatidae)

Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Leiopelmatidae

Thumbnail description
Medium-small and brown, reddish, or green frogs with broad heads, rounded pupils, and smooth soles of the feet

Size
7.9–2.0 in (20–50 mm)

Number of genera, species
1 genus; 4 species

Habitat
Humid forest, banks of rocks, and streams

Conservation status
Vulnerable: 2 species; Lower Risk/Near Threatened: 1 species

Distribution
New Zealand

Evolution and systematics

Leiopelmatidae is among the most primitive of living frogs. These frogs have skeleton characters otherwise known only in the tailed frogs, family Ascaphidae, and in the most primitive known fossil frogs, which date from the Jurassic. Because of their shared primitive morphologic features, the tailed frogs, genus Ascaphus, on some occasions have been grouped into the same family. All that the frogs in these families share are primitive features, however, and so there is no sound basis for considering them to be closely related. Leiopelmatidae is certainly an ancient group and dates from the time when New Zealand broke off from the rest of the continental landmasses sometime during the Mesozoic era. Within the genus, the species Leiopelma archeyi, L. hamiltoni, and L. pakeka are closely related, to the exclusion of L. hochstetteri. Of three additional subfossils, extinct species from the North Island of New Zealand, L. auroraensis and L. markhami, resemble L. hochstetteri, whereas L. waitomoensis seems to be related to the other extant species. No subfamilies are recognized.

Physical characteristics

These are small frogs, less than 2.0 in (50 mm) in length, with characteristically broad heads and smooth skin on the soles of the feet. They have rounded pupils, no visible eardrum, and little or no webbing between the toes. Parotoid glands (glandular swellings in the skin on the back of the head behind each eye) are present. Mostly, these frogs are various shades of brown, but some individuals have a reddish tint or are green. Skeletally, they have nine presacral vertebrae, of which the third, fourth, and fifth have free ribs; they also have inscriptional (abdominal) ribs between the blocks of muscle in the belly, terminating posteriorly with a broad, flat prepubic bone.

Distribution

The species are known from North Island, Maud Island, Stephens Island, and Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.

Habitat

The frogs inhabit humid native forest except on Stephens Island, where there is no forest remaining and the frogs are restricted to a fog-enshrouded and shrub-covered rock pile at the summit. Leiopelma hochstetteri is usually found alongside forest streams, particularly in rocky stretches of stream near cascades or even waterfalls. The other species are not restricted to standing or flowing bodies of water.

Behavior

Largely nocturnal and cryptic, these frogs forage on the forest floor or along the stream banks. During the day they generally hide underneath rocks or fallen wood or under other debris on the forest floor or by the streamside. When disturbed, all species sit motionless and rely upon their cryptic coloration to avoid detection. If physically molested, however, the frogs squeak, even though they otherwise make no sounds. If they become particularly agitated by a potential predator, the frogs stand high on their four legs, head down and turned in the direction of their persecutor. The frogs swim using alternating kicks of their legs rather than with a synchronous motion of the two legs, as in most other frogs.

Feeding ecology and diet

The diet consists of small invertebrates that are captured by lunges and bites, inasmuch as the frogs do not have protrusible tongues.

Reproductive biology

The New Zealand native frogs do not call and presumably find mates by olfaction. During mating, the male clasps the female around the waist with his arms in inguinal amplexus. The eggs are fertilized externally. All species of Leiopelma lay small clutches of up to two to three dozen unpigmented, yolky eggs. Those of Leiopelma hochstetteri hatch into whitish, free-living tadpoles that tend to remain hidden under stones or other cover in seepages and stream edges. The other species lay terrestrial eggs and have no free-living larvae, passing through complete development within the egg to emerge as tiny frogs. The male parent guards the eggs and, for a time, the newly emerged froglets.

Conservation status

Two of the species of Leiopelma are among the rarest frogs in the world. The IUCN considers Archey's frog to be Lower Risk/Near Threatened and Hamilton's frog (encompassing both L. hamiltoni and L. pakeka) as Vulnerable. All species are protected in New Zealand under the Wildlife Act and may not be disturbed except by permit.

Significance to humans

These frogs are of scientific interest because they are among the most primitive of living frogs, as well as for a peculiar system of chromosomal sex determination in Hochstetter's frog. The North Island populations of this species, uniquely, have a single, female-determining sex chromosome that exists without a homologue. Otherwise, these frogs are unseen by most people, since they are small, cryptic, and nocturnal. To see them, you have to go looking for them, and they may have been almost completely unknown even to the Maori people of New Zealand.

Species accounts

Resources

Grigg, G., R. Shine, and H. Ehmann, eds. The Biology of Australasian Frogs and Reptiles. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons, 1985.

Robb, Joan. New Zealand Amphibians and Reptiles in Color. Auckland: Collins Publishers, 1980.

Abourachid, A., and D. M. Green. "Origins of the Frog-Kick? Alternate-Leg Swimming in Primitive Frogs, Familes Leiopelmatidae and Ascaphidae." Journal of Herpetology 33, no. 4 (1999): 657–663.

Bell, Ben D. "A Review of the Status of New Zealand Leiopelma Species (Anura: Leiopelmatidae), Including a Summary of Demographic Studies in Coromandel and on Maud Island." New Zealand Journal of Zoology 21, no. 4 (1994): 341–349. ——. "The Amphibian Fauna of New Zealand." New Zealand Wildlife Service Occasional Publications 2 (1982): 27–89.

Green, D. M., and D. C. Cannatella. "Phylogenetic Significance of the Amphicoelous Frogs, Ascaphidae and Leiopelmatidae." Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution 5, no. 2 (1993): 233–245.

Worthy, T. H. "Osteology of Leiopelma (Amphibia: Leiopelmatidae) and descriptions of three new subfossil Leiopelma species." Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 17, no. 3 (1987): 201–251.

Society for Research on Amphibians and Reptiles in New Zealand (SRARNZ). SBS, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.

[Article by: David M. Green, PhD]

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: primitive New Zealand frogs
  Synonyms: family Leiopelmatidae, Liopelmidae, family Liopelmidae

New Zealand primitive frogs Fossil range: 200–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Jurassic – Recent[1]
Hochstetter's Frog (Leiopelma hochstetteri)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Archaeobatrachia
Family:	Leiopelmatidae Mivart, 1869
Genus:	Leiopelma Fitzinger, 1861
Species
See text.
Distribution of Leiopelmatidae (in black)

Leiopelmatidae, or New Zealand primitive frogs, is a family belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. Their relatively primitive form indicates that they have an ancient lineage.^[2][3] Only four species are known to belong to the family. As the common name suggests, they are only found in New Zealand.^[4]

Their defining characteristics are their extra vertebrae (bringing the total to nine) and the remains of the tail muscles (the tail itself is absent in adults, although it is present in the younger frogs, who need the extra skin surface until their lungs are fully developed). The family Ascaphidae (found only in North America), of the same suborder, share these "unique" characteristics, and hence the two have often been described as related, or even part of the same family.

They are unusually small frogs, only 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length. Most species lay their eggs in moist ground, typically under rocks or vegetation. After hatching the tadpoles nest in the male's back, all without the need for standing or flowing water. However, Hochstetter's frog 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.^[1] Lifespan may be long (more than 30 years) for such small organisms.^[5]

Contents 1 Species 1.1 Extinct species 2 References 3 External links

Species

Family LEIOPELMATIDAE

• Genus Leiopelma
  • Archey's Frog, Leiopelma archeyi Turbott, 1942
  • Hamilton's Frog, Leiopelma hamiltoni McCulloch, 1919
  • Hochstetter's Frog, Leiopelma hochstetteri Fitzinger, 1861
  • Maud Island Frog, Leiopelma pakeka Bell, Daugherty & Hay, 1998

Extinct species

Three extinct species are known by subfossil remains, also from New Zealand. They became extinct during the past 1,000 years.

• †Leiopelma auroraensis
• †Leiopelma markhami
• †Leiopelma waitomoensis

Much older fossils, dating back to the Jurassic, and also considered to belong to this family, have been found in Argentina.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.. ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 85. ISBN 0-12-178560-2. 
2. ^ Roelants, Kim; Franky Bossuyt (February 2005). "Archaeobatrachian paraphyly and Pangaean diversification of crown-group frogs". Systematic Biology 54: 111–126. doi:10.1080/10635150590905894. 
3. ^ San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences, Marina Alcobendas, Rafael Zardoya and Axel Meyer (May 2005). "Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea" (^{[dead link]} – ^{Scholar search}). American Naturalist 165: 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AN/journal/issues/v165n5/40546/40546.html. 
4. ^ "DOC: Photo-stage and Archey's Frog". http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=33152. Retrieved 2005-12-05. 
5. ^ Bell, Ben D.; et al. (2004). "The fate of a population of the endemic frog Leiopelma pakeka (Anura: Leiopelmatidae) translocated to restored habitat on Maud Island, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 31: 123–131. 

• http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/names.php?taxon=&family=Leiopelmatidae&subfamily=&genus=&commname=&authority=&year=&geo=0&dist=&comment=
• D.G. Newman (1996). "Native frog (Leiopelma ssp.) recovery plan" (PDF). Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp18.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 

External links

• Information related to Leiopelmatidae from Wikispecies.

• Media related to Leiopelmatidae at Wikimedia Commons

v • d • e Extant anuran families by suborder Kingdom Animalia · Phylum Chordata · Subphylum Craniata · Superclass Tetrapoda · Class Amphibia Archaeobatrachia Ascaphidae · Bombinatoridae · Discoglossidae · Leiopelmatidae Mesobatrachia Megophryidae · Pelobatidae · Pelodytidae · Pipidae · Scaphiopodidae · Rhinophrynidae Neobatrachia Amphignathodontidae · Aromobatidae · Arthroleptidae · Brachycephalidae · Bufonidae · Centrolenidae · Dendrobatidae · Heleophrynidae · Hemisotidae · Hylidae · Hyperoliidae · Leptodactylidae · Mantellidae · Microhylidae · Myobatrachidae · Petropedetidae · Ranidae · Rhacophoridae · Rhinodermatidae · Sooglossidae

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