NKFherping

Another Mamushi (Gloydius blomhoffii) from a new area of Honshu for me. We shined this snake coiled in a weep hole on a vertical concrete wall in the mountains. I genuinely have no idea how this snake managed to get into the hole, as the smooth concrete wall would be difficult for even a Ratsnake to climb. These weep holes are intentionally placed to funnel water flow during rains and reduce structural damage to the many concrete walls along mountain roads in Japan, but they also serve as great hiding places for most of the local snake species when they aren’t flooded.

I didn’t realize how badly I needed to see a blue Tiger Keelback (Rhabdophis tigrinus) until I found one. This is seriously one of the best looking snakes I have ever found, and it was especially cool to find it under tin in an area we weren’t expecting it. This color phase is not particularly rare in the right places, but we definitely got lucky finding such a good looking and freshly shed individual.

Japanese Fire-bellied Newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster) were almost a daily occurrence during our time in Japan, but they never get old! This stunner was found crossing the road along a lower elevation mountain road during an afternoon shower.