Atlas species information

Habitat

• Coastal forest and deep boulder banks.
• Nocturnal.
• Eggs layed on damp soil beneath rocks or logs and gaurded by male; development terrestrial, tadpoles and froglets may cling to males back until metamorphosis completed.

Description

• Light fawn to dark brown, or juveniles sometimes greenish, with varying amounts of dark blotching.
• No bright markings on thighs.
• Measures up to 49 mm from snout tip to vent.
• The skin is generally smooth, though some scattered tubercles (small knob-like projections on the skin) occur on the proximal (upper) portions of the thighs and shanks, and some individuals are more warty on their backs than others.

Distribution

• Stephens and Nukuwaiata Islands in Cook Strait.
• Subfossil bones attributable to the Leiopelma hamiltoni species complex have been found in the Waitomo, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and north-west Nelson areas, suggesting that some or all of the members of this group were formerly more widely distributed.

Notes

• Notes about 2008-10 cycle of NZ threat classification for Frogs (Newman et al 2010): Nationally critical (A) because total area of occupancy <1 ha, although total population in 250-1000 bracket, qualifier 'CD' - island biosecurity, translocated Nukuwaiata population showing promising signs on but not shown yet to be increasing, and not yet regarded as established as island-born young not yet shown to be breeding.
• Named after Harold Hamilton who collected the first specimens discovered.
• One of the rarest amphibians in the world; less than 200 on Stephens Island.
• In 2004, the Department of Conservation translocated 40 specimens from Stephens Island to Nukuwaiata Island (in the Chetwodes Island group), establishing a new population.
• Notes about NZ threat classification (Hitchmough, et al 2007): Native on Stephens Island only - approximately 350 individuals.
• Notes about 2012-14 cycle of NZ threat classification for Frogs: (Newman, et al.
• 2013): Early signs of establishment with recruitment on Nukuwaiata, but not yet considered an established population.