<i>Onychodactylus japonicus</i> habitat (2005)

[TJ]

Following up on a trip taken in June 2004 to the mountains of western Tokyo...

see: http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/15941.html?1086119131

...here are some pics from a trip taken yesterday with three friends to the same area. It wasn't the best time of year to find Japanese Clawed Salamander adults -- and indeed we found only one small one -- but larvae spend around three years in the water before morphing and thus can be found year-round.

(Message edited by TJ on August 22, 2005)

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

 

[TJ]

(Message edited by TJ on August 24, 2005)

 

[TJ]

Other inhabitants of this forest include my favorite species of toad Bufo japonicus formosus (Eastern Japanese Common Toad):

As you can see, their bellies come in two choices of flavor -- strawberry and vanilla

I prefer the strawberry myself

 

[TJ]

Also, there were lots of young Rana tagoi tagoi (Tago's Brown Frog) hopping around:

This is an interesting frog in that it lays eggs underground (about the size of E. andersoni eggs) with large-yolked embryos that don't go through a tadpole stage.

 

[TJ]

I reckon the Rana tagoi tagoi were there by design to fill the bellies of the Amphiesma vibakari vibakari.

This is known as the Hibakari or ''One-day Snake" because it was believed long ago that a person would die within a day if bitten by one. In fact, however, it is a non-venomous snake. Not only that, but it is perhaps the most gentle of all Japanese snakes, at least insofar as it's not known to bite.

(Message edited by TJ on August 22, 2005)

 

[travis]

It is amazing how similar Onychodactylus larvae look to young Dicamptodon larvae. They seem to inhabit similar conditions too. Just an observation.
Travis

 

[TJ]

I don't know anything about Dicamptodon, but how long to they take to morph in the wild? The larvae shown above (not including the semi-adult in the 1st, 3rd and 4th pics) are between 2 and 3 years old! The interesting thing about Onychodactylus salamanders is that they have no lungs, being the only lungless genus in the family Hynobiidae. Also, they cannot tolerate temperatures above 20 C, which is why you will seldom find them kept in captivity. One can find them by lifting rocks in parts of the stream where the current is not too strong.

(Message edited by TJ on August 24, 2005)

 

[TJ]

In the lower parts of the stream (though still high in the hills), one can also find Hynobius kimurae larvae, which I believe morph within a year.

(Message edited by TJ on August 24, 2005)

 

[jeff]

That habitat is absolutely beautiful Tim. Many thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[TJ]

Hi Jeff. Did I hear somebody say "encore"?

Yes, it's a nice place, one that I've been to 4 times already. Pretty strenuous hiking for somebody as out of shape as me. Haven't run into any bears there yet, though they're around. The bells keep them at a safe distance

By the way, I've just replaced the second pic up at the top of this thread with a larger version of the same.

(Message edited by TJ on August 30, 2005)

 

[TJ]