Recent trips near Taipei

[numpty]

Hi there,

It's been a while since I posted anything here, but warmer, wetter weather always revives my enthusiasm and gets me out into the field. I've only managed a few trips out so far this year, none too far from Taipei, but here are some of the frogs I've been able to snap with my faltering point-and-shoot.

First off, a few taken in the small-scale farms among the hills near XinDian, a district just south of Taipei.

Polypedates braueri, until a couple of years ago classified as a Taiwan polulation of P. megacephalus, which was only in the 1980s split off from P. leucomystax. A very common treefrog, but no less fun for that!



Another very common treefrog, the tiny Kurixalus idiootocus. The name refers not to stupidity, but to its odd habit (for a treefrog) of laying eggs on land, without foam, near - but not above - water bodies, to be washed into them by rainfall.



A not-so-common treefrog, Polypedates prasinatus, the Emerald Treefrog. This one is restricted to northern Taiwan, and while it's quite common in the locations where it occurs, it's vulnerable to environmental change. Classified as Near Threatened, and a protected species. In common with a few of the other treefrogs here, it seems to have backed itself into a bit of a corner - it tends to congregate near farms, where buckets and cisterns provide perfect reservoirs for breeding, but that leaves it vulnerable if the farmer decides to start using pesticides, or just empties his buckets.


A single fuzzy shot of Microhyla fissipes, a bit out of its element on a dry evening. These usually only put in an appearance during rainy weather, when they "sing" (rasp/snore) in choruses from beneath leaf litter, or in this case, human litter.


And a couple more from the same location - a sleeping japalura and common Taiwan toad.

[numpty]

Next, a trip a little further afield to another great froggy spot, halfway to the town of Wulai. A bit of a hike up the road, but always worth it.

Odorrana swinhoana, a whistling frog usually found calling from rock walls beside or in the middle of rushing streams.



Love is in the air for Babina adenopleura, the Olive Frog. Or rather, it's in a stagnant bathtub off to one side of a bamboo farm.


Also in the bamboo farm, Kurixalus eiffingeri, a close relative of K. idiootocus shown earlier, though this cute little frog tends to breed in bamboo stumps, tree boles or caves. It practices parental care, with the male guarding the eggs until they hatch, and then the female feeding the tadpoles trophic eggs. Also occurs on a couple of small, outlying Japanese islands.




The same species, but from a rock wall bordering a road.


The pretty Chinese Treefrog, Hyla chinensis. Incredibly noisy on rainy nights, when crowds of them congregate at breeding pools (or in this case, buckets). I must admit, I took a few eggs from a horribly fouled bucket for raising and releasing.




More Rhacophorus prasinatus - an adult, and a couple of weeks later, a juvenile.



And a gnarly-looking Microhyla fissipes. The combined noise from choruses of this frog and H. chinensis was absolutely deafening the night I took this.

[numpty]

To finish off, a few photos from earlier this year and the tail end of last year, since I didn't post them at the time.

The Taipei Green Treefrog, Rhacophorus taipeianus. A tricky guy to see, even when calling.



Rana longicrus, the Long-legged Frog, not looking particularly long-legged here.


And a few snakes and lizards encountered along the way - green tree viper, Taiwan habu, japalura and gecko.






Thanks for looking, if you got this far!

[LilyPad]

Oh wow, some really amazing pictures! Thank you for sharing. I think the Taipei Green Treefrog was my favorite, although the green tree viper is beautiful also.

[Tongue Flicker]

Is that green tree viper, T.stejnegeri by any chance? If so, then that is my first venomous pet snake! Aw memories lol

[Mentat]

Thank you for share ! Always look forward to your field trip reports because of the gorgeous animals, great photography and interesting stories. Hard to pick any favorites here; but the juvenile Rhacophorus prasinatus is so cute !

[numpty]

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you liked!

Is that green tree viper, T.stejnegeri by any chance? If so, then that is my first venomous pet snake! Aw memories lol

Yup, that's the one. Very common in the ditches on rainy nights, but no less beautiful for that.

I managed another trip out tonight in the pouring rain. My camera died halfway through the outing but I got a few smeary pics before it packed up. I'll upload some when I have the time.

[deranged chipmunk]

Excellent pics. Thanks for sharing. My favorite is.... All of them! But I really dig the fern in the japalura (?) pic.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[UncleChester]

Great stuff! Love the pics and the natural history lessons

[numpty]

A quick update on the last postings. I went out again a couple of nights ago. Raining cats and dogs, it was! I mean, I like the rain ... it brings out the frogs ... but this was ridiculous. I think I caught on CNN yesterday that at some point three months worth of rain had fallen in Taiwan in just a few hours. And it lasted more than just a few hours ...

Anyway, enough griping. Before my camera shorted out in the rain, I managed a few watery shots.

I don't often focus on the snakes, but I enjoy seeing them. This one is Boiga kraepelini, the square-headed cat snake ("cat" because of the eyes). Rear fanged and only very mildly venomous, but quite aggressive, apparently.



This was a first for me. Hoplobatrachus rugulosus, the Chinese edible frog, or if you prefer, the East Asian bullfrog. I often hear this one calling from marshes and ponds, but hadn't until this point been able to see one. Maybe the rain was so hard that it thought it was actually safe in the middle of a lake when I approached it. Anyway, as the name suggests, this species often ends up on the dinner table in East and Southeast Asia, and for that reason has been introduced to a few countries outside its natural range, such as the Philippines. It will readily eat other frogs.


Not sure about this one. It might be either a colourful specimen of Fejervarya limnocharis, or else a juvenile Hoplobatrachus. Anyone have any ideas?


Another Rhacophorus prasinatus. Or maybe the same one, but somewhere else.


Buergeria japonica, the Japanese Buerger's frog. A small fellow with a striking trill of a call. In Taiwan this one sometimes lives around hot springs, which allows them to breed year round. Not quite as famous as those monkeys in the Japanese hot springs though ...


Okay, thanks for looking!

[Tongue Flicker]

Aw love boigas!!! I keep 2 species as well.

Yes i have to agree that is a F.limnocharis. i breed a lot of those for my frog-eating snakes

[numpty]

Yes i have to agree that is a F.limnocharis. i breed a lot of those for my frog-eating snakes

Thanks for that confirmation. Quite variable frogs, the F. limnocharis. The vast majority here in Taiwan have the central stripe.

[Tongue Flicker]

The barred markings on their mouth are a signature for that species. The males tend to have red eyelids during breeding season too. Really neat.

Taiwan has a lot of pretty colored snakes for such a small area, i hate them LOL

[numpty]

The barred markings on their mouth are a signature for that species. The males tend to have red eyelids during breeding season too. Really neat.

I did not know that. I'll keep a lookout for the red eyelids!

Taiwan has a lot of pretty colored snakes for such a small area, i hate them LOL

Sixty-odd snakes on the island, as far as I know ... not many of which I've seen. I think I need to make more of an effort to spot snakes this year. Short of venturing to the south of the island, I've seen most of the frogs that reside up here in the north, but there are abundant species of snake for me to seek out.

[Heatheranne]

This is great! Thanks for the share .

[Heatheranne]

It's now on our fb page .

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...88399141191381

Adorable frogs/toads! I always love hearing about species native to other areas. You really took some great pictures. I love how you've captured them in their favorable locations such as coming out of the bamboo .

[Tongue Flicker]

It's like a hint of red that normally lasts during the rainy season so more or less 4 months. Hmm, wait. I think their eyes are somewhat red with a good camera flash angle as well