''Leiopelma auroraensis'', known as the Aurora frog, is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
species of
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
that was found in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
One
subfossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
of the Aurora frog has been discovered in the
Aurora Cave,
Fiordland
Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
, New Zealand. It measured about 60 mm from the snout to the vent. It is named after the Aurora Cave for where it was found.
The other extinct
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
frogs are
Markham's frog and
Waitomo frog
The Waitomo frog (''Leiopelma waitomoensis'') is an extinct species of the genus ''Leiopelma'' from New Zealand.
The Waitomo frog's distribution was solely in the North Island of New Zealand. Its extinction is believed to have happened during t ...
.
Aurora frog probably was a local form that had evolved from the more widely distributed Markham's frog.
[
]
See also
*List of amphibians of New Zealand
All of the amphibians of New Zealand are either from the endemic genus ''Leiopelma'' or are one of the introduced species, of which three are extant. Pepeketua is the Māori word.
Unique characteristics
Members of the genus ''Leiopelma'' exhib ...
*List of extinct animals of New Zealand
This is a list of New Zealand species extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years Before Present (about 9700 BCE) and continues to the present day. This epoch equat ...
References
Leiopelmatidae
Amphibians of New Zealand
Extinct animals of New Zealand
Amphibians described in 1987
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