Species information
Scientific name: Nidirana okinavana
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: Ishigaki, Iriomote
Ecology and description
The call of the Yaeyama music frog resembles the sound of playing a harp, which is very unique. They mainly dig burrows for breeding in mudflats during the summer. It is crucial not to step into their breeding grounds during observation as it can destroy their mud nests, causing breeding failures. Repeated trampling can harden the mud, preventing them from digging burrows for breeding.
Previously, the scientific name of this species was Rana psaltes. In 2017, it was discovered that the type specimen of Ryukyu brown frog actually belonged to this species. Consequently, the species epithet of Ryukyu brown frog (Rana okinanava) was changed to the current species epithet Nidirana okinavana, and a new scientific name was assigned to Ryukyu brown frog.
Reference: On the Brown Frogs from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, with Descriptions of Two New Species (Amphibia, Anura)
It was previously believed that the harp frogs of Taiwan and those distributed on Ishigaki and Iriomote were the same species. A 2025 study revealed that the Taiwanese population is smaller and their calls differ from those on Ishigaki and Iriomote, leading to the Taiwanese population being described as a new species, Yuchih music frog (Nidirana shyhhuangi), with the species epithet shyhhuangi named in honor of Professor Shih-Huang Chen. The Chinese name for this species was then changed to Yaeyama music frog.
Reference: Description of a new music frog (Anura, Ranidae, Nidirana) critically endangered in Taiwan
Field photographs taken during our tours, with observation dates
I was very lucky to encounter the Yaeyama music frog on the road in November, after the breeding season had ended.
