Hong Kong FDC on "Biodiversity"

First Day Cover
首日封
Sobrescrito de 1.º Dia

Hong Kong

Biodiversity

Date of Issue : 15 July 2010

The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. This set of stamps presents four endemic species in the territory.

Macropodus hongkongensis ($1.40) - A member of the Belontiidae family, Macropodus hongkongensis (commonly known as Hong Kong Paradise Fish) is the only freshwater fish named after Hong Kong. It can be found in the northeastern part of the territory including the northern New Territories, Tai Po and Sai Kung. The fish has an elliptical and laterally compressed body with elongated dorsal and anal fins. The first pair of gill-rakers extends to form a supplementary respiratory organ. The fish is generally solid black or greyish in colour. During spawning season, the males exhibit dark black body colour and their unpaired fins are lined with bluish-white edges.

Liuixalus romeri ($2.40) - Liuixalus romeri (commonly known as Romer's Tree Frog) is an amphibian of the Rhacophoridae family. Distributed in woodlands on Lamma Island, Lantau Island, Po Toi and Chek Lap Kok, it is the smallest among the frog species recorded in Hong Kong, with an average body length from 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres. The frog's whitish belly and brownish back with a dark X-shaped marking give camouflage in its natural habitat.

Sinopora hongkongensis ($3) - Sinopora hongkongensis is a medium-sized tree of the Lauraceae or Laurel family, and can reach 16 metres in height. Bracteoles bear rust-coloured hairs. Leaves are elliptical and flowers small and greenish-yellow, with globular and yellowish-brown fruits up to 4 centimetres in diameter. First discovered at Tai Mo Shan in 2005, Sinopora hongkongensis was identified as a species new to science and is the only known representative of the genus Sinopora.

Fukienogomphus choifongae ($5) - Fukienogomphus choifongae is a medium-sized gomphid. The dragonfly has a yellow and black body. The male has stout white superior anal appendages and widely divaricate black inferior anal appendages. The female also has white superior anal appendages but short black inferior anal appendages. First discovered at Wu Kau Tang in the northeastern New Territories in 2004, Fukienogomphus choifongae was identified as a species new to science