LEIOPELMA-PAKEKA, N-SP (ANURA, LEIOPELMATIDAE), A CRYPTIC SPECIES OF FROG FROM MAUD ISLAND, NEW-ZEALAND, AND A REASSESSMENT OF THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF L-HAMILTONI FROM STEPHENS ISLAND

Patterns of allozyme variation reveal that frogs from Maud Island, New Zealand, here designated Leiopelma pakeka, n. sp., are specifically d istinct from L. hamiltoni from Stephens Island. Previously, the two po pulations had been thought to be conspecific. Leiopelma pakeka shows l imited morphological differentiation from L. hamiltoni, but is highly distinct genetically. Among 12 allozyme loci resolved from toe tissue, the two taxa showed fixed differences at two loci and one significant frequency difference. L. hamiltoni was genetically more similar to L. archeyi (Nei's D = 0.18) than to L. pakeka (D = 0.24). The discovery that Maud Island and Stephens Island frogs are distinct species increa ses the conservation significance of both as the single known populati on of each species. L. hamiltoni is one of the world's rarest frogs an d warrants the highest level of conservation protection.