As I mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of this series Geoffrey Herklots sent specimens of Hong Kong amphibians to Peking for Alice Boring to identify. In the first of those papers all of which were published in Hong Kong Naturalist she wrote that the material was collected under the supervision of Dr Herklots for a period of a little over one year, from December 1930 to January 1932…Herklots had arrived at the University of Hong Kong in 1928 to teach biology, just like Boring in Peking, to medical students. Further specimens were sent in 1933 and possibly later but of these only one had not been represented previously. The specimens, number unknown, were collected on Hong Kong Island, on Lantau as well as in Kowloon and the New Territories.
Alice Boring identified 16 species (a 17th Herklots realised had been collected elsewhere and I have omitted any reference to it). To date 24 species of amphibians have been recorded in Hong Kong. Of the ones recorded before 1930 the Herklots collection missed only one.
The following is a checklist of Hong Kong amphibians, using the current scientific name. The ones marked § are those identified by Boring.
§Hong Kong Newt Paramesotriton hongkongensis
Leaf-litter Toad Leptolalax laui. First recorded in Hong Kong 1979
§Short-legged Toad Megophrys brachykolos (from tadpole as M. boettgeri and an adult tentatively as M. longipes )
§Asian Common Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus
Hong Kong Cascade Frog Amolops hongkongensis. First recorded in Hong Kong 1950
South China Cascade Frog Amolops ricketti. First recorded in Hong Kong 2004
§Paddy Frog Fejervarya limnocharis
§Chinese Bullfrog Hoplobatrachus rugulosus
§Günther’s Frog Sylvirana (Hylarana) guentheri
Brown Wood Frog Hylarana latouchii. First recorded in Hong Kong 1984
§Three-striped Grass Frog Hylarana macrodactyla
§Two-striped Grass Frog Hylarana taipehensis
Big-headed Frog Limnonectes fujianensis (not recorded in Hong Kong between 1917 and 1987)
§Rough-skinned Floating Frog Occidozyga lima
§Green Cascade Frog Odorrana chloronata
§Lesser Spiny Frog Quasipaa exilispinosa (as Q. spinosa). Identified as species in 1975 (see below)
Giant Spiny Frog Quasipaa spinosa. Adults first discovered in Hong Kong 1978 (see below)
Romer’s Tree Frog Liuixalus romeri. Discovered in Hong Kong 1952
§Brown Tree Frog Polypedates megacephalus
§Spotted Narrow-mouthed Frog Kalophrynus interlineatus
§Asiatic Painted Frog Kaloula pulchra
Butler’s Pigmy Frog Microhyla butleri. First recorded in Hong Kong 1964
§Ornate Pigmy Frog Microhyla fissipes
§Marbled Pigmy Frog Microhyla pulchra
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| G.A.C. Herklots |
As I read Boring’s papers I became intrigued about the two species of Quasipaa, exilispinosa and spinosa, now known to occur in hill and mountain streams. One, Q. spinosa is much larger than the other, reaching 14 cm—the largest anuran in Hong Kong. Although the drawing used to illustrate Boring’s paper is clearly of Q. exilispinosa (the webbing of the hind limbs does not reach the tip of the toes whereas in Q. spinosa it does) she wrote: ‘My material from Hong Kong includes two very large specimens and 7 medium-sized ones…’ Unfortunately, she provided no quantitative information but there remains the possibility that the collection sent by Herklots did contain the two species of spiny stream frogs rather than just the one.
This collaborative effort between Alice Boring and Geoffrey Herklots was the first organised survey of the amphibians of Hong Kong. It provided the basis on which others have built, starting, of course, with John Romer who began his activities soon after his arrival in the late 1940s.
I do not know if Boring and Herklots ever met. There was one opportunity in Hong Kong in 1937 when Boring, caught away from Yenching during the Japanese advance, made her way back to the university by first travelling south.
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| Paddy Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) |
Boring AM. 1934. The amphibia of Hong Kong Part I. Hong Kong Naturalist 5, 8-22
Boring AM. 1934. The amphibia of Hong Kong Part II. Hong Kong Naturalist 5, 95-107
Boring AM. 1936. The amphibia of Hong Kong Part III. Hong Kong Naturalist 7, 11-14
Karsen SJ, Lau M W-N, Bogadek A. 1998. Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles. Second Edition. Hong Kong: Provisional Urban Council
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