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Amolops hongkongensis

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA AMPHIBIA ANURA RANIDAE

Scientific Name: Amolops hongkongensis
Species Authority: (Pope and Romer, 1951)
Taxonomic Notes: Amolops daiyunensis was considered a synonym of A. hongkongensis by Yang (1991), but we follow Fei et al. (1999), Jin et al. (2005) and Ngo et al. (2006) in treating it as a separate species.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered B1ab(iii) ver 3.1
Year Published: 2008
Assessor/s: Michael Wai Neng Lau, Bosco Chan
Reviewer/s: Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson and Neil Cox)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
Listed as Endangered because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 5,000 km2, its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat.
History:
2004 – Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: This species is known only from a small area of southern China in Hong Kong (both the New Territories and Hong Kong Island) and nearby Guangdong Province at 20-790m asl (M.W.N. Lau pers. comm.). It probably occurs a little more widely, but records from Fujian Province refer to Amolops daiyunensis. However, it is unlikely to occur in other areas in Hong Kong as extensive searches have not turned up any new locations (M.W.N. Lau pers. comm.). In Guangdong Province it is difficult the survey effort is a lot less extensive, but studies on Wutongshan close to the border with Hong Kong found Amolops ricketti (M.W.N. Lau pers. comm.). It is possible that it also occurs in the mountain ranges in eastern coastal Guangdong between Hong Kong and Gutian, but this cannot stated with any degree of certainty until more fieldwork is carried out (M.W.N. Lau pers. comm.).
Countries:
Native:
China; Hong Kong
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: It is a common species in Hong Kong where there is suitable habitat.
Population Trend: Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: It is an inhabitant of forest-fringed, small hill streams, particularly those with cascades. It does not survive where the forest is removed. The eggs are laid in rock crevices near cascades and watrerfalls where the water splashes over them, and the larvae cling to the stones and rocks in streams by means of a ventral sucker.
Systems: Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): The major threats to this species are habitat destruction and degradation caused by silviculture, clear-cutting, and the construction of hydroelectric plants and other infrastructure. However, the population in Hong Kong appears to be relatively secure, but part of the habitat of the Guangdong population was under threat in 1997 when it was last surveyed.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Most of the range of the Hong Kong population is within protected areas, and it is also protected in Hong Kong under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance. At least one population in Guangdong occurs in Gutian Nature Reserve and its surroundings in Huidong County.
Citation: Michael Wai Neng Lau, Bosco Chan 2008. Amolops hongkongensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2013.
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