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 distinct from L hamiltoni from Stephens Island Previously, the two populations had been thought to be conspecific Leiopelma pakeka shows limited 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 increases the conservation significance of both as the single known population of each species L hamiltoni is one of the world's rarest frogs and warrants the highest level of conservation protection