Archey frog

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Archey frog
Leiopelma archeyi.jpg

Archey frog ( Leiopelma archeyi )

Systematics
Row : Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Frog (anura)
Family : New Zealand primeval frogs (Leiopelmatidae)
Genre : Leiopelma
Type : Archey frog
Scientific name
Leiopelma archeyi
Turbott , 1942

The Archey Frog ( Leiopelma archeyi ) is a member of the family New Zealand Urfrösche belonging (Leiopelmatidae) Froschlurch . The species is mainly found on the Coromandel peninsula in New Zealand . The additional species archeyi honors Gilbert Archey , director of the Auckland Institute and Museum from which the first descriptor took over the post of director.

features

Archey frogs are tiny frogs. Males reach a head-torso length of up to 31 mm, the females are slightly larger with up to 37 mm. Their color varies from predominantly green or green and brown to predominantly brown. Webbed toes are absent or reduced. A tympanum (membrane of the hearing organ) is not visible. Dorsally there are demarcated granular glandular areas that extend in six longitudinal rows to the rear and to the sides. The middle row is the most pronounced. The glands are also on the top of the legs and feet and to a lesser extent on the arms.

distribution

Archey frogs live on the North Island of New Zealand , with the largest subpopulation on the Coromandel Peninsula. A smaller population lives in an area of ​​six square kilometers in the Whareorino Forest in the west of the North Island. In 2006, after the Chytrid fungus infested the Whareorino stock, 70 frogs were relocated from the Whareorino Forest to the Pureora Forest Park , but it is still too early to determine whether the translocation was successful.

Habitat and way of life

Archey frogs are found in moist primary forests , but as a ground-dwelling species, they are not tied to running water. They are nocturnal and during the day they retreat to cool and damp places under stones or tree trunks. The eggs are laid in strings, the small clutches are deposited in damp places under stones or tree trunks. The diameter of the egg capsules is between 8 and 11 mm. The eggs are yolk-like, unpigmented and enclosed in clear capsules. Sometimes the frogs, especially the males, occupy the egg-laying sites weeks or longer before the eggs are laid. Small frogs develop directly from the eggs without the tadpole stage . The young frogs, which are still provided with a tail, climb onto the back of the male parent immediately after hatching and spend several weeks there during which they complete their development.

In 1989, Cree found that dehydrated archey frogs under wet foliage can rehydrate from 92 percent to 99 percent of their original body weight in just 4 hours.

Hazard and protection

In the Coromandel region, the population decreased massively. From 1984 to 1994, the annual estimate was 433 individuals, down 88% from 1996 to 2002 to just 53 frogs. Evidence of amphibian chytrid infection could be a cause of the massive decline around 1996, but the cause is still unclear and other factors may have contributed to the decline. By restricting mining activities and combating imported predators such as rats, the population of the Coromandel region was stabilized again. However, there is no evidence that stocks will return to their previous size. Especially since the reason for the dramatic decline remains unclear and may not have been resolved. In the Whareorino Forest, where the introduced predators are not controlled, a decline in populations is to be expected. For the remaining subpopulation there is too little data to determine the trend of the population. The species is therefore classified as critically endangered by the IUCN .

literature

  • Ben D Bell, Scott Carver, Nicola J Mitchell, Shirley Pledger: The recent decline of a New Zealand endemic: how and why did populations of Archey's frog Leiopelma archeyi crash over 1996–2001 ?, Biological Conservation , Volume 120, Issue 2, 2004 , Pages 189-199, ISSN  0006-3207 , doi: 10.1016 / j.biocon.2004.02.011
  • Cree, A. (1989): Relationship between environmental conditions and nocturnal activity of the terrestrial frog, Leiopelma archeyi. Journal of Herpetology , 1-68.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Leiopelma archeyi at Amphibia Web 2018, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
  2. ↑ a b c d e IUCN
  3. ↑ Phillip J. Bishop, Lisa A. Daglish, Amanda JM Haigh, Leigh J. Marshall, Mandy D. Tocher, Kate L. McKenzie: Native frog (Leiopelma spp.) Recovery plan, 2013-2018. 2013, New Zealand Department of Conservation. ( Online )
  4. ↑ a b Cree, Alison. Relationship between environmental conditions and nocturnal activity of the terrestrial frog, Leiopelma archeyi. In: Journal of Herpetology (1989): 61-68.
  5. ↑ FOCUS Online: Gland: Success in species protection: The comeback of the Mauritius falcon . In: FOCUS Online . ( focus.de [accessed on July 22, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Ben D Bell, Scott Carver, Nicola J Mitchell, Shirley Pledger: The recent decline of a New Zealand endemic: how and why did populations of Archey's frog Leiopelma archeyi crash over 1996–2001? In: Biological Conservation . tape 120 , no. 2 , November 2004, ISSN  0006-3207 , p. 189–199 , doi : 10.1016 / j.biocon.2004.02.011 ( sciencedirect.com [accessed July 22, 2018]).

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