Leiopelmatidae

Leiopelmatidae, or New Zealand and North American primitive frogs, is a family belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia.  There are only four Leiopelma and two Ascaphus species alive now. Leiopelma are only found in New Zealand. Ascaphus are only found in North America.

Overview
Leiopelmatidae have an extra vertebrae.  They have the remains of the tail muscles.

When Leiopelmatid jump, they land in a "belly flop".  After landing, Ascaphus skids to a halt before recovering.

They are very small frogs, only  in length. Most species lay their eggs in moist ground, typically under rocks or plants. After hatching the tadpoles nest in the male's back.  They do not need standing or flowing water.  Life span may be long at more than 30 years.

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
 Genus Ascaphus
 Tailed Frog, Ascaphus truei
 Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog, Ascaphus montanus

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, have been found in Argentina, such as Notobatrachus.

References

Other websites

 New Zealand Frog Conservation Biology - research on New Zealand frog biology

Category:Frogs
Category:Animals of New Zealand
Category:Living fossils