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I watched with amazement as this young Striped Stream snake hoisted itself out of the water and crawled up the underside of the boulder, UPSIDE-DOWN, towards a patch of Hong Kong Cascade frog eggs. It fell several times in the process, either having failed to properly glue itself to the rock, or in the struggle to tear away the eggs. I'd seen an adult eating eggs on the same rock (previous photos), reaching down from the top to get to the prize.

穿山甲, Manis pentadactyla

動物類別：哺乳類

門：脊索動物門
綱：獸綱
目：鱗甲目
科：穿山甲科
其他中文名：中國穿山甲、鯪鯉、錢鯉甲
形容：全身披滿鱗甲的食蟻專家；鱗甲為灰棕至灰色，腹部為淺棕色；頭部尖小，吻部尖狹；尾長而粗，末端尖狹；四肢粗壯，前肢有向後彎曲的鋒利大爪，方便挖掘；身軀幼長，四肢粗壯，除吻、腹及四肢內側外，由毛凝集而成的灰棕色半透明交疊硬；沒有牙齒；舌頭特長，可伸長20厘米。
保護狀況
香港法例授與的保護
受保護瀕危動植物物種條例（第586章）保護
受野生動物保護條例（ (第170章）保護
罕見
受保育關注的物種
世界自然保護聯盟紅皮書：極危
中國紅皮書：易危

Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla
Animal Group: Mammal

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pholidota
Family: Manidae
Description: Ant eating specialist covered with overlapping scales; scale is grayish brown to grey; belly is pale brown; small pointed head with a tapering and pointed snout; long and thick with tapered end; limbs are stout; claws on the forefeet are large, sharp and recurved and thus well adapted for digging; slender body with stockier limbs; the entire body, except snout, belly and inner sides of limbs, is covered with overlapping grayish brown semi-transparent hard armor-like scales made of agglutinated hair; absence of teeth; sticky tongue that can extend as long as 20cm.
Conservation Status
Statutory Protection in Hong Kong
Listed in Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586)
Listed in Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170)
Rare
Species of Conservation Concern
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered
China Red Data Book Status: Vulnerable