Kampira Falls frog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kampira Falls frog |
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The Kampira Falls frog (Nidirana okinavana) is a type of true frog. It's also called the Yaeyama harpist frog or harpist brown frog. You can find this frog on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in Japan. It also lives in Taiwan.
This frog is medium-sized and has a sturdy brown body. It has a special gland near its shoulder and a skin fold running from its shoulders to its hips.
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Where the Kampira Falls Frog Lives
The Kampira Falls frog lives in several different places. Its favorite spots are warm, wet forests. It also likes grasslands that get wet or flooded during certain times of the year.
- Swamps are another home for these frogs.
- They also live in freshwater marshes.
- You might even spot them in canals and ditches.
Sadly, the places where these frogs live are shrinking. This is a big problem for them, as they are losing their natural habitats.
Why This Frog's Name Was Confusing
The Kampira Falls frog has had a bit of a confusing history with its name. Scientists often try to give animals unique scientific names. But sometimes, it gets tricky!
How the Frog Got Its First Name
A scientist named Oskar Boettger first described a frog from the Ryūkyū Islands in 1895. He called it Rana okinavana. He wasn't sure exactly where his frog specimens came from. He thought they might be from Okinawa, a well-known island.
The Mystery of the Missing Frogs
Later, scientists found similar brown frogs on the Yaeyama Islands. But it turned out that Boettger's original frog was only found there. For a while, people thought the Okinawan frogs were the same. Then, they realized the Okinawan frogs were different. This made things very confusing! Some even thought Boettger's frog didn't exist at all.
Solving the Name Puzzle
In the 1970s, scientists realized the frogs from Okinawa and Yaeyama were not the same. Even though they looked similar, they were different species. In 1985, the Yaeyama frog was given a new name: Rana psaltes.
Finally, in 1999, scientists looked closely at Boettger's original frog specimens. They found that these frogs were exactly like the ones called Rana psaltes. This meant that the frog Boettger described was the same as the Yaeyama harpist frog.
So, according to the rules of naming animals, the older name Rana okinavana had to be used. This is why the frog is now known as Nidirana okinavana. The Ryūkyū brown frog from Okinawa still needs its own official scientific name!
