Wild P.Hongkongensis

[Michael]

A few pics of wild Paramesotriton Hongkongsensis and their habitat.
Please note that after these blurry photos were hastily taken, I released them because their collection from the wild is prohibited by law (and a warden was coming). An unfortunate thing is that many ignorant b***ards think that the collection of one or two newts will not affect the population, and these people who hike on their weekends scoop up these slow moving animals who are like sitting ducks in the hillstreams on Hong Kong at breeding time. Even those who replace the newts where they were found handle them quite badly, carrying them everywhere and letting their children poke the poor creatures. (I privately hope their toxic secretions will kill a child one day)

On a more positive track, however:

Skinny looking thing...


A male (white breeding stripe)

[Foster Reves]

Thank you for sharing the photos. I would love to see pics of the general habitat if you have another opportunity. In addition any shots of local plants, other animals living in the stream, etc would be great. It is often difficult for those of us (myself at least) on the other side of the world to get a good mental grasp on the environment that many of these animals originate from.

<<<(I privately hope their toxic secretions will kill a child one day)>>> I certainly understand being enthusiastic about the animals that we care for however please be careful when posting such comments. Reckless behavior in any environment is usually the result of ignorance and as frustrating as this can be one should never wish death on a curious child.
Chip

[Justin]

Boy would I love to see these in the wild. A couple questions for you. First, how abundant are they during breeding season as compared to other parts of the year. Second, do you have any habitat shots?

Thanks for the post,
Justin

[Louise Selfridge]

Great find. Thanks for posting pics!

[Michael]

yes, I have habitat shots, which I will post when I get home from school. I'll try give you a general idea of the flora and any other details too...

[Michael]

oh, and yes, they are quite noticeably more abundant in the water during breeding months (october-correct me if I am wrong) and the population tends to be male-heavy at the beginning of the eason but female heavy nearer the end. I have never found eggs or larvae, though. At other times of the yet they become semi terrestrial and will wander areas near water bodies.

[neel]

Very nice photos! They're awesome animals, and I've wanted to see them in the wild for a while now.

I was in HK for work in late May of last year, and I spent the good part of a day on Lantau Island hoping to find these guys in the wild. It was a nice rainy day, and I took a taxi to several places on the island and up the mountain and tried a few streams. In the end, I didn't find any P. hongkongensis, and all I saw was a 'mock viper'. I just ended up frustrated, wet, and cold :)

I have absolutely no intentions of collecting any, and I wouldn't want to give any hints to anyone that wants to collect them in the wild... However, I'm just curious if I was trying at the wrong time of year, or in completely the wrong place. I'll probably be back sometime soon, and I'd love to try to find them again!

Thanks,
-Neel

[Michael]

For neel and anyone else interested:
http://www.hku.hk/ecology/porcupine/...lance-newt.htm

I think I was just lucky that my family decided to go hiking at this time of year

Look for them in places sheltered from the current...I am not sure how to describe the exact location but it shouldn't be too hard to find where the hill stream is... you can ask the wardens there.

[Michael]

The promised habitat shots:

[Rodrigo]

Gorgeous place, thanks for sharing.

[Michael]

Yes, it is a lovely place...unfortunately there is a public hiking trail right next to this place, meaning that every Tom, Darren, Harry, Jane, Samantha, Chi Kit, John and Sara that fancies having a dip with a fishnet can possibly pester these newts.

[Michael]

Chip, some animals include:
Whitecheeked Goby (forgot that one, it'd be eaten0
Dojo Loaches
Hillstream Loaches

[Mike]

Nice! What are those fish in the pic with them?

[Michael]

Uhh...some sort of loach. I'm not sure of the exact species though.

[Foster Reves]

Thanks again for sharing the pics and information. It would be an interesting concept to setup a biotype aquarium, mixing P. hongkongensis and some of the hillstream loaches. I do not think that it would work well in anything but a very large tank though.
Chip

[Justin]

You know Chip, if you took away the background that creek would look like alot of the ones here. I don't know why but I pictured streams over there looking different, but I don't know how I pictured them if that makes sense.

[Foster Reves]

Originally Posted by Greatwtehunter

You know Chip, if you took away the background that creek would look like alot of the ones here. I don't know why but I pictured streams over there looking different, but I don't know how I pictured them if that makes sense.

I know what you mean. Living my whole life in the mountains has caused me to form certain mental pictures of what other places should look like, despite accuracy. I spent a month in Japan about ten years ago. I remember being so excited about exploring any natural area just to see an "exotic" animal in it's natural habitat. I found a vacant, overgrown lot and began rummaging around. The only thing that I could find were pillbugs that looked pretty much like what we have here. After that I saw some crows...
Chip

[Michael]

Originally Posted by freves

i know what you mean. Living my whole life in the mountains has caused me to form certain mental pictures of what other places should look like, despite accuracy. I spent a month in japan about ten years ago. I remember being so excited about exploring any natural area just to see an "exotic" animal in it's natural habitat. I found a vacant, overgrown lot and began rummaging around. The only thing that i could find were pillbugs that looked pretty much like what we have here. After that i saw some crows...
Chip

hahahaha!!!

[Chris Michaels]

Do you know where the animals lay their eggs, Michael? It seems to me that this habitat is completely different from the captive ones that are successful for breeding this species (I don't see any aquatic plants).

[Ian Choi]

Hi, this is exciting to see this photos. I was born in HK but only started learning and loving amphibians and nature as I grew up in Canada. I am going back to HK for 2 weeks in January, I dont really think that it will be a good time to find caudata (am I right?), but I like to visit the habitat. Mind to share where the location is? Which park?

Thanks

P.S.- I wont be collecting any, not that I can ship back to Canada anyway...