Animal﹕Hong Kong newt (香港瘰螈)
【明報專訊】The Hong Kong newt is the only species of salamander (蠑螈) in Hong Kong. It got its name because it was first discovered in our region, though it was later found in the coastal part of Guangdong Province as well. Widely distributed throughout New Territories, Lantau Island and Hong Kong Island, these newts live in mountain streams, pools and the surrounding forests. As they can only survive in clean environment, these sensitive animals are indicators of water quality!
◆Is Hong Kong newt a lizard (蜥蜴)?
Some people may confuse Hong Kong newts and lizards. Despite their similar body shapes, newts are amphibians (兩棲類動物) whereas lizards are reptiles (爬行類動物). Lizards have dry skin with scales, while newts have moist skin with no scales.
Like the tadpoles (蝌蚪) of frogs and toads, Hong Kong newts hatch and enter a life stage when they stay underwater, breathe with external gills (腮部), and look very different from their parents. After around two months, they go through metamorphosis (改變形態) and become adults with legs to crawl around, and breathe through lungs. Mature Hong Kong newts gather in pools to breed during the dry season from September to March, so that they can avoid the flush of water after rain.
◆Orange patches on their belly: unique like our fingerprints!
Hong Kong newts have a brown body as camouflage (保護色), blending in with the stones and dead leaves in their living environment. On their belly, there are bright orange patches making up patterns unique to each newt. For predators, they are warnings of poison. For scientists, they are like human fingerprints as they allow us to identify individual newts.
◆Why are Hong Kong newts declining?
Hong Kong newts are threatened by habitat destruction. Just like humans, clean fresh water is essential for their survival. Pollution as well as development for drainage and hydropower would reduce the size and quality of their habitats.
On the other hand, some people like to keep Hong Kong newts as pets. From 2005 to 2010, there might have been over 300,000 of them exported from Hong Kong to the United States. There have also been cases of illegal trade involving poaching (非法捕獵) and smuggling (走私). Most of these newts were captured from the wild and caused a big impact on this species. Hong Kong newts are protected in Hong Kong by law, under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (《野生動物保護條例》). Starting from 2016, the species is also listed in the Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約), which means that the international trade of Hong Kong newts must be strictly regulated to avoid pushing the species towards extinction. A permit is required for any import or export.
Text & photos: Ocean Park Hong Kong
■Glossary
indicator(n) 指標
crawl (v) 爬行
hydropower (n) 水力發電
capture (v) 捕獲
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