Yaeyama Music Frog

Japanese Name: ヤエヤマハラブチガエル
Chinese Name: 琉球琴蛙
English Name: Yaeyama Music Frog
Origin: Ishigakijima, Iriomotejima

The call of the Yaeyama Music Frog sounds like a harp being played, making it truly unique. It primarily breeds in summer by digging burrows in wetland mud. When observing this species, it is crucial not to step into its breeding sites. Damaging the mud nests can lead to reproductive failure, and repeated trampling can harden the soil, preventing the frogs from digging burrows in the future.

I was fortunate to encounter a Yaeyama Music Frog on a road in November, after the breeding season had ended.

Previously, this species was known as Rana psaltes. However, in 2017, researchers discovered that the type specimen of the Ryukyu Brown Frog (Rana okinavana) actually belonged to this species. As a result, the species name okinavana was reassigned to Nidirana okinavana, and the Ryukyu Brown Frog received a new scientific name.
Reference: On the Brown Frogs from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, with Descriptions of Two New Species (Amphibia, Anura)

It was once believed that the Music Frog population in Taiwan was the same species as Nidirana okinavana, which is found on Ishigakijima and Iriomotejima. However, a study published in 2025 revealed that the Taiwanese population is smaller in size and has a distinct call. Consequently, the Taiwanese population was described as a new species, Nidirana shyhhuangi, with the species name “shyhhuangi” dedicated to amphibian researcher Shyh-Huang Chen.
參考資料：Description of a new music frog (Anura, Ranidae, Nidirana) critically endangered in Taiwan