Hamilton's frog

Leiopelma hamiltoni

The Hamilton Frog ( Leiopelma hamiltoni ) is a Froschlurch from the genus of New Zealand Urfrösche. He is one of the four surviving species of the primitive family Leiopelmatidae. It is named after Harold Hamilton, who first collected it. The IUCN classifies the species as "endangered " ( endangered ) a.

Description

The Hamilton - frog is a small species in which the males reach a length of 43 mm and the females have a length of 49 mm. It is generally dark brown in color with green and light brown spots. The eyes are round, the pupils are uncut and there is no outward eardrum. He does not have webbed feet and no tail, but atavistic muscles that have originally been used for the movement of a tail.

Occurrence

The Hamilton frog is found only in two small areas on the mammal -free island of Iceland Stephens (New Zealand) in the Marlborough Sounds in the north of the South Island of New Zealand.

Way of life

The Hamilton frog undergoes no tadpole stage, but instead develops completely within a gelatinous egg envelope. Therefore, he needed no standing still flowing water for reproduction. The Hamilton frog lays its eggs under decaying wood or boulders and the male carries the young frogs after hatching piggyback to the next body of water. Hamilton Frogs are very dependent on a damp environment. They dry out and die if they are exposed in a dry place. Aside from their rarity, the frogs are hard to spot because they are well camouflaged. You have a nocturnal lifestyle and not croak.

Hazard and resettlement

Because of its restricted distribution area of Hamilton Frog is one of the rarest frogs in the world. During the Second World War, a five-year search yielded no results for this frog and in 1964 succeeded the German animal filmmakers Eugene Shoemaker and Helmuth Barth total sixteenth sighting of these frogs and the world's first movies that have in the movie The last paradises were seen in 1967. Until 1992, the Hamilton - frog was limited to a 600 m² small boulder field in a heavily modified habitat on the island of Iceland Stephens. Because of the loss of vegetation cover, the habitat has been exposed to extreme climatic changes. Furthermore, had decimated the population in the past rats. In order to increase the stock of about 300 individuals, was July-October 1991 relating to a residual forest nearby, 40 meters from the origin removed, creating a new habitat by digging pits and the heaping up with rubble. A predator- safe fence has been erected, which should keep even the biggest natural enemy of the Hamilton - frog, the Tuatara. Invertebrate prey animals were exposed in the area. Twelve adult frogs were relocated in May 1992 in this area. In the period 2004-2006 80 Hamilton frogs were released on the island Nukuwaiata and 2008 there the first baby frogs were discovered.