FieldHerpForum

That's Friday the 13th, for those who don't dig slasher movies

Anyway, I went ricepaddy-slogging last night with a few friends, and after two hours we declared it a success: in spite of the still cool weather had found two toad species, six or seven different kinds of frogs, lots of interesting inverts, and even caught a glimpse of the Chinese soft-shell turtle I had encountered a while ago in the same paddy.

On the way home, I decided to show my friends the spot where I had discovered the baby tree viper in January - and would you believe my luck!?! Not only did we find it again, but it was actually perching on the very same sapling as four weeks ago!!

We also found a two-foot, semi-DOR Taiwan Habu (Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus) that had just been hit by a vehicle Still twitching, but of no use but as food for other predators...

On to the pix:

Chinese Bamboo Viper, Trimeresurus stejnegerii





Actual size


Juvenile Brown Treefrog, Buergeria robusta; endemic to Taiwan




Black-spectacled Toad, Bufo (Duttaphrynus) melanostictus; quite common in East and South-East Asia


Taipei Treefrog, Rhacophorus taipeianus, another endemic. Being an island, Taiwan is ripe with endemism, and about half of the 30-odd local frog and toads species are only found here.




Latouche's Frog, Rana latouchii, common in China and Taiwan.


Water Scorpion (Nepa sp.? Can anyone ID him?

Cheers, mate. No news naming nameless nepid.

Not too shabby

Very nice and informative post. I especially liked the pic of the Trimeresurus being photographed on the tree with people in the shot to give it scale -- didn't appreciate how small (dare I say delicate?) the snake was.

Eitan

P.S. Warren, wonderful wording without which we wouldn't wince.

I can't compete with the verbiage spouted from Warren and Eitan, but the invertebrate in question looks a lot like our Lethocerus (spelling?), a giant water bug.

I know it is not our species though, because it has an abdominal snorkel and it is much more slender, but that body shape, and head/grasping arm structure is remarkably similar. So, I hope that is a start for someone.

The last one is a Water Scorpion "Laccotrephes japonensis" (紅娘華).

Wow, that water scorpion would kick our water scorpions ass.

Mike

It is great to see these pics from Taiwan. Too bad about the Taiwan Habu ... would have been a nice find and photos.


Regards,
David

Thanks for the kind input, guys!

@shagcarpet and Jack: It could be Laccotrephes japonensis, alas, I've since learned that "紅娘華" is a generic name for a whole slew of Laccotrephes sp. and Ranatra sp, all of which live in the area here.

As to the Taiwan habu, no worries, there will be many, many more as the weather warms up. It's the second-most common viper 'round these here parts (after the Bamboo Viper), and the scourge of the paddy farmers, many of whom still tend their fields barefoot.... Here's a DOR specimen that two of our dogs found a few summers ago. That was actually the first one I'd ever seen, and excited me very much.....not as much, however, as the one I discovered in our backyard a few nights later. That was the first venomous snake I had to actually deal with, and since I didn't know jack about these beasts back then, I resorted to gently pushing the serpent into the creek next door, employing a very unmanly fifteen-foot bamboo pole

Totally agree with Eitan, wouldn't have believed that snake was that small if you'd just posted the headshots. Very useful.

very cool. I know there is a whole slew of T. stejnegeri - is the one on Taiwan different from mainland China? The one I am familiar with has a red stripe beneath the white stripe:

(I have yet to find a live one)

Just curious to know if it was a different subspecies or an ontogenetic change. I am guessing different subspecies.

Excellent post again, Twoton. It is great to see people from other parts of the world contributing to this forum on a regular basis.

Josh

Thanks, guys! Kevin, the red stripe that runs parallel to the white one doesn't indicate a subspecies, but is a feature in male adults. Not all male adults have it, though.