New Zealand has four frog species that are endemic – found only in New Zealand. There were three other endemic species, but they have become extinct since humans arrived. A further three species from Australia have formed self-perpetuating populations.
Frogs are known as pekeketua or pepeketua in Māori. Features of New Zealand endemic frogs: New Zealand endemic frogs are among the world's most ancient. Their ancestors were carried by continental drift from the supercontinent of Gondwana millions of years ago.
In a family of their own (Leiopelmatidae), they differ from most other frogs in many respects:
They have no eardrums. They have no vocal sac and do not call or croak, although they make quiet squeaks when disturbed.
They catch insects with their mouth, not with a long tongue.
They lay small numbers of large yolky eggs in moist places, but not in water.
Tadpoles grow inside the egg and hatch as tailed froglets – there is no free-swimming tadpole stage.
Spine and muscles: All the New Zealand native frogs have an extra vertebra, and unlike modern vertebrates their vertebrae are concave at both ends. They have long pieces of cartilage in the abdominal muscles.
Although the adults have no tail, they have tail-wagging muscles (called caudalipuboischiotibialis muscles). They share some of these features with ancient fossil frogs as old as 135 million years, and with one other living primitive family (Ascaphidae) in the American Rockies.
BYO pen and extraction device as while the cache is small the log is tiny.
After finding this cache, at the bridge head uphill to grab Dropbear then finally head back down to the bridge and head downhill on the main track for the last few caches on this trail