The Distribution of the Genus Leiopelma in New Zealand with a Description of a New Species. By E. G. Turbott, M.Sc., Auckland Museum. [Read before the Auckland Branch, June 18, 1941; received by the Editor, August 15, 1941; issued separately, March, 1942.] Leiopelma * Fitzinger's original spelling, although incorrectly transliterated, should be retained, and extended to the family name. The spelling Liopelma was apparently first used by Günther (1868, 478). Fitzinger (1861, 218) is a member of the family Leio-pelmidae *, instituted by Noble in 1924 for the reception of Leiopelma of New Zealand and Ascaphus of western North America. Morphological and developmental studies by Noble (1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927), Archey (1922) and Wagner (1934) have established the primitive nature of the Leiopelmidae. De Villiers (1929, 67, fig. 17), slightly altering Noble's table (1924) of anuran phylogeny, derives the Leiopelmidae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae and Aglossa from an extinct leiopelmid-like group. Nearly all work on Leiopelma has been applied to the general relationship of the genus. McCulloch (1919) alone has contributed directly to the taxonomy of the species of Leiopelma in separating L. hamiltoni McCulloch of Stephen Island from L. hochstetteri Fitzinger of the mainland. The type locality of L. hochstetteri is Coromandel. Specimens had been taken in 1852 (Thomson, 1853, 66) from under rocks on the banks of a mountain stream near Coromandel, but were not named. The types of Fitzinger's species were brought to Hochstetter (1867, 163) by Maoris. Hochstetter describes the habitat of the frogs as “the small creeks rising in the Cape Colville range; also in swamps, but always as a great rarity.” It may be presumed that the types came from a creek or swamp, but this is not stated definitely. Specimens of native frogs in the Auckland Museum collection are from several localities other than Coromandel (see text-figure): Warkworth, Huia (Waitakere Hills), Thames, Waitekauri, Te Araroa (East Cape). All these specimens have come from stream-beds or swampy areas and agree with the description of L. hochstetteri. Reports of frogs have also come from Opotiki (Hutton and Drum-mond, 1923, 384) and the Kaweka Range, in water just below the bush-line (fide Mr. K. M. Sorby), the habitats in both localities suggesting the occurrence of L. hochstetteri. In the Coromandel district, however, specimens are found not only in the streams and swamps, but also on the hill-tops (Archey, 1922), and the latter now prove to be of a new species, differing from the stream inhabitants chiefly in lacking the webbing of the toes.