Written by / Photography / Wang Jie
This article is an excerpt from the magazine Knowledge is Power
When you think of the natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, most people will think of the endless Changtang grassland, and when you think of the wild animals living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, you may think of large mammals and birds, such as the iconic wild yak, Tibetan antelope, vulture and so on in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
However, can you relate the rainforest to tropical tree frogs, snakes, and iguanas to the Tibetan Plateau? In fact, the ecology and biodiversity of this land are far beyond your imagination. Let's get to know the strange amphibians and reptiles on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau!
The alpine valley of the Hengduan Mountains - climbing lizards
From Kunming, Yunnan, the first stop on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the Hengduan Mountains in Northwest Yunnan - Eastern Tibet. The riverside valleys in the Hengduan Mountains are dry and hot, and there are often hot and dry "burning winds" in summer, while the habitat of amphibians and reptiles is dominated by dry gravel beaches and thorny shrublands, and few trees grow.
However, even in such a hot and dry river valley, there is considerable amphibian and reptile diversity. One of the easiest to find is the climbing lizard. These small lizards, which are no more than 20 centimeters long, often crawl on the large rocks by the river, or sunbathe comfortably, or nod their heads excitedly and do "prostrate" movements, declaring their sovereignty over the surrounding territory.
The Lancang River Valley between the mountains
The female and male individuals of the climbing lizard have their own unique external morphology, which is biologically called "sexual dimorphism". Male climbing lizards have two longitudinal stripes along their backs, mostly bright and bright in color, while females have no or unclear longitudinal stripes, and their body color is closer to the surrounding environment.
Emerald climbing lizard — female
The main body of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau - alpine frogs, hot spring snakes
In the meadow wetlands of the plateau, the most common amphibians are the alpine frog. Although common, its contribution to science is not small. The alpine frog is not only the second amphibian in the world where all genes have been fully resolved by humans, but also a perfect object for studying the mechanisms of plateau adaptation and hypoxia tolerance. Unlike their relatives in the mainland, alpine frog tadpoles take more than two years to complete their metamorphosis in order to adapt to the low temperatures and scarce food resources of the plateau. Therefore, if you pay attention to the plateau, you can find swimming tadpoles all year round.
The hot spring snake is one of the most well-known amphibians and reptiles in Tibet. As a snake with a high distribution at an altitude in the world, the hot spring snake inhabits the alpine zone above 3700 meters above sea level in Tibet. Although the name contains a "hot spring", in fact, the hot spring snake does not live directly in the hot spring, but lives in the rivers and meadows around the hot spring, and they usually feed on the highland loach and alpine frogs in the water. During the day, hot spring snakes often warm up in the sun by the river, and when their bodies are warm and they reach the best state of predation, they will plunge into the cold water to find prey; when they are full of food and drink, they will lazily climb ashore and digest their prey by the temperature of stones or beaches. When snow falls in winter, the hot spring snake will burrow into the crevices or holes around the hot springs and use geothermal heat to survive the harsh winter of the plateau.
Hot Spring Snake
Tropical and tropical forests of Southeast Asia - toothed toad
Due to abundant rainfall and stable temperatures throughout the year in southeastern Tibet, amphibians have the opportunity to spread away from water sources and into different habitat types. On mount Kalonla in the Nyingchi region of Tibet, high-altitude mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests live in two species of amphibians that have only recently been discovered and named, the spiny wart-toothed toad and the Wu's toothed toad.
The two species of toothed toads live dispersed under deciduous leaves and mosses, and only during the breeding season do they breed in understory puddles and slow-flowing streams. In the rainforest of Metuo, the tree frog expands its habitat to a new "height". Double-spotted tree frogs, Burmese tree frogs, etc. inhabit lower shrubs and trees, and only gather in rice paddies and watering holes to court and breed every breeding season. The white-jawed tree frog and the horizontal-striped tree frog are more adapted to arboreal life, and even evolved the "paraglider" generally developed webbing, jumping with the fingers and toes outs, with the help of aerodynamic gliding between the treetops.
Striated tree frog
In addition to the above, the Tibetan Plateau is also home to a wide variety of reptiles. However, although the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region has a large number of nature reserves in the country, due to the financial temptation brought about by commercial development and the lack of law enforcement efforts by law enforcement agencies, many areas have been subjected to ecological threats brought about by unnecessary artificial development.
I hope that more and more people can understand the diversity of the unique amphibians and reptiles on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and pay attention to the protection of amphibians and reptiles!
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