Bufo japonicus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Japanese common toad, Japanese warty toad or Japanese toad (Bufo japonicus) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitats are subarctic forests, temperate forests, temperate shrubland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, ponds, and irrigated land. Amplexus is the mating behaviour involved in the Japanese common toad during the breeding season.
This species was originally first described as Bufo praetextatus in 1826. However, the specimen that is used to name it is lost, and since this name is used by only a few authors, it is considered that B. japonicus is valid instead.
There are two subspecies, Western-Japanese common toad (Bufo japonicus japonicus) and Eastern-Japanese common toad (Bufo japonicus formosus). They are distinguished by the size of the tympanum, smaller in B. japonicus japonicus and larger in B. japonicus formosus. However, some taxonomic authorities consider B. japonicus formosus to be a separate species (B. formosus), leaving B. japonicus monotypic (having no subspecies).
B. japonicus formosus is known to hybridise in... Wikipedia →
Recording0:24
Japan · 2025
© naturalist49784 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Toad sighting in Tokyo on a given day, based on 251 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 11 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–April and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Toad in Tokyo on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Japanese Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Japanese Toad sightings, Tokyo ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Sendai (Japan, about 30%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Japanese Toad that you can see in Tokyo (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are American Bullfrog (about 10%), Daruma Pond Frog (about 10%) and Japanese Brown Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Tokyo (251 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
