Phil the Frogfather

30/08/2026

Fantastic to be back in the ocean this weekend scuba diving at our local - Gold Coast Seaway.

We just missed the 10 meter visibility conditions reported a few days earlier but Sat & Sun was still around 8 metres and nice and blue. 😎

We got some monster Queensland Groupers, Green Sea Turtles, Lionfish and a bunch of mullet, diamond fish, tangs etc. 🐟🐢

28/08/2026

A little video diary detailing a day spent chasing the introduced pest species - American Bullfrogs around Kyoto, Japan (bloopers left in for entertainment purposes) 😆🐸😆

**petofauna

28/08/2026

Chasing American Bullfrogs in Japan! 🇯🇵🐸 Exploring the disastrous history of this 1918 invasive species introduction (with plenty of bloopers left in for your entertainment) ❌🦖🤣

**pingjapan

28/08/2026

Fabulous Frog Friday! 🐸

Two species of frog I photographed towards the end of my trip to Japan:

1) Kajika Frog (Buergeria buergeri). I took this safety shot just before my camera battery died, it was the last h**p of the trip!

2) Tago’s Brown Frogs (Rana tagoi) or possibly the smaller Dwarf Brown Frog (Rana kyoto) endemic to Japan.

Researchers K. Eto, M. Matsui, and T. Sugahara separated it from the small form lineage of Rana tagoi in 2022. Apparently without seeing their eggs and nuptial pads during the breeding season, they are hard to distinguish by photographs alone in summer when neither of those distinguishing features are available.

**ping **pinginjapan **petofaunajapan

27/08/2026

I was loving the Amazonian freshwater fish display yesterday in the Osaka Aquarium.

Collossomas, Red Piranha, Redtail Catfish, and my favourite... The Arowana - known for their explosive jumping ability taking out all kinds of insects and animals that crawl along the rainforest branches and venture too close to the surface of the water!

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26/08/2026

Just in time! I managed to get some shots of the monster 12-15cm adult American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Japan on my last night!

Earlier in the trip I couldn't get anywhere near the huge adults around the lakes & ponds in Kyoto they were far too skittish!

The Lotus pond near the bamboo forest where I seen the first ones calling on day one saved the day 🙏

There can't be many people on earth who would spend their last day & night in Japan doing this! 🤔🐸😆

25/08/2026

The Japanese Common Toad (Bufo japonicus).

This juvenile was photographed a few nights ago in the mountains. I was hoping to see an adult but I only got to see a preserved one at the Hanzaki Research Institute.

24/08/2026

Yesterday on the walk up to the waterfall we spotted a juvenile Tiger Keelback (Rhabdophis tigrinus).

It was my first live snake in Japan (road kill only up to that point).

When threatened, juveniles actively flatten their necks to display their warning colors or take up a rigid defense posture and reassemble a cobra.

This individual was just doing its best to get out of the way like most snake do when approached.

23/08/2026

Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus) larvae photographed two nights ago.

What a treat getting the adults and larvae of this magnificent amphibian all in the same night!

Its hard to believe these two inch larvae may one day grow to 1.5 meters (5 foot).

Thanks again to the Hanzaki Research Institute for giving me the opportunity to photograph and film both adults and offspring while visiting Japan!