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Quick Facts
Common name: Romer's tree frog
Scientific name: Philautus romeri
Native home: wooded areas on Lantau, Lamma, Chek Lap Kok and Po Toi
Estimated numbers: extinct in 1953 now thriving in certain areas but still considered endangered.
Size: between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half centimetres long, with females  a bit larger than males. The size of an average school eraser, Romer's tree frog is the smallest amphibian in Hong Kong.
This little creature was first discovered in a cave on Lamma Island in 1952 by an amateur naturalist, J. D. Romer.
When the cave collapsed, everyone thought the frog had become extinct.
However, Romer's tree frog was rediscovered on Lamma Island in 1984.  It has  since been found on Lantau, Chek Lap Kok and Po Toi.
Because Romer's tree frogs are endemic  (only found in) in Hong Kong, they are regarded as  a national treasure.
Anyone caught hunting, disturbing, possessing, or trying to sell Romer's tree frogs or their eggs can be fined up to HK$100,000 and  jailed for a year.
True or False?
1. Romer's tree frog is Hong Kong's smallest reptile.
2. This frog was first discovered living in caves.
3. Romer's tree frogs live all over Asia.
Home Life
Find words that mean: organs that help animals cling to surfaces, enclosed, come out
Although they are called tree frogs and have suckers on the ends of their toes, Romer's tree frogs live  among the fallen leaves on the forest floor - preferably near a stream where they can breed. The species mates between early March and September. The female lays about 120 eggs and sticks them onto leaves and rocks  in streams or ponds. Each egg is one millimetre across and is surrounded by a five-mm layer of protective gel. The eggs hatch three or four days later. The tadpoles that emerge take a month or so to  develop into small frogs. During this time they eat algae.
When they become adult, they leave the stream and begin to feed on ants, termites, crickets, spiders and other insects.
Romer's tree frogs are nocturnal. They can live for three years in the wild, but the females can only reproduce for two years.
Success Story
Fill in the blanks with the following words: sponsored, safeguard, released, bleak, evaluated
When construction  of Chek Lap Kok Airport was first planned, the future of the Romer's tree frog  looked very ________________ .
But in 1991 and 1992, before building work started, more than 200 adults plus juveniles, tadpoles and eggs were rescued. To ________________ the frogs, some were moved to the University of Hong Kong while others were housed at Melbourne Zoo in Australia.
A study  from 1991 to 1997, ________________ by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and conducted at the University of Hong Kong, ________________ the habitat and lives of amphibians, especially Romer's tree frog.
Because the scientists knew exactly what the frogs needed, the 1,100 frogs and 1,600 captive-bred tadpoles that were ________________ at Tai Lam Country Park, Tai Tam Country Park, Tsiu Hang Special Area and other sites in 1993 and 1994 have thrived.
Threats
Choose the correct alternative
As Romer's tree frogs are endemic to Hong Kong and live in only a small area, they are invincible/vulnerable to threats  like disturbance, habitat destruction and pollution.
Frog eggs and tadpoles are also threatened by fish and other predators.
Even more worrying is global warming. Amphibians are indifferent/sensitive to  tiny changes in temperature and humidity because of their permeable skin, unshelled eggs and the metamorphosis they have to evade/complete to grow up.
Due to global climate change 32 per cent of amphibians are  threatened, 43 per cent declining and 120 species may have been wiped out since the 1980s.
fab fact!
Global climate change has  created conditions whereby chytridiomycosis, a skin disease that kills amphibians, is becoming more common.
fab fact!
True tree frogs are members of the Hylidae family. Despite its name, Romer's tree frog belongs to the Rhacophoridae family - frogs that live in Southeast Asia, India and Japan. Its nearest relatives include the Flying Frog, which lives in Thailand and Malaysia.
fab fact!
Romer's tree frog, the Hong Kong Cascade frog and Hong Kong Newt are considered endangered species and are protected.
Quiz
Answer the following questions
To test your memory, try answering without referring to the text. If you can't remember the details, read the piece again.
1. Adult Romer's tree frogs are:
a. about 3.5 to 5.5cm long
b. about 2.5 to 5.5cm long
c. about 1.5 to 2.5cm long
2. Adult female Romer's tree frogs are:
a. bigger than the males
b. smaller than the males
c. the same size as the males
3. Romer's tree frogs live in:
a. oceans and brackish water
b. high areas like mountain tops
c. woods and streams
4. What do Romer's  tadpoles eat?
a. insects mostly
b. algae
c. mosquitoes
5. What do adult Romer's tree frogs eat?
a. insects mostly
b. algae
c. mosquitoes
6. Wild Romer's tree frogs are:
a. living in Thailand's forests
b. only found in Hong Kong
c. found all over Southeast Asia
Answers:
True or false: F, T, F
Choose the correct alternative: vulnerable, sensitive, complete
Fill in the blanks: bleak, safeguard, sponsored, evaluated, released
Find the words that mean: suckers, surrounded, emerge
Quiz: 1. c, 2. a, 3. c, 4. b, 5. a, 6. b



An amphibian that should be treasured