[Herpetology • 2024] Enduring the Earthquake: Rediscovery of the Critically Endangered Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966 (Anura: Bufonidae) and its Conservation Implications

Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966

in Quah, Imbun et Yek, 2024.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5447.2.6

 

Abstract

The Mesilau Stream Toad (Ansonia guibei) is a species of bufonid endemic to Sabah, Borneo, and restricted to a single mountainous location above 1600m in elevation. The species is only known from the type locality, the Mesilau watershed on Mount Kinabalu. An earthquake in 2015 resulted in massive landslides, causing extensive damage to the species’ habitat at Mesilau. This event was expected to have caused significant population declines of at least 80% or even the potential extinction of the species. A survey in 2017 at Mesilau failed to locate any individuals, which resulted in it being listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Surveys in late 2023 to reassess the status of the species and its habitat resulted in the rediscovery of a single subadult specimen of A. guibei. Tadpoles of the species were recorded in the main Mesilau River and one additional tributary, which indicates the species survives and is breeding. Studies are ongoing to collect more ecological data on the species and determine its current distribution. The data gathered will be used to construct a robust conservation plan for the species. Nevertheless, these preliminary observations bode well for the future of the species as it demonstrates that it is resilient and capable of recovering from the damages caused by the earthquake.

Amphibia, Amphibian, Borneo, endemism, IUCN Red List, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah 

Evan S.H. Quah, Paul Yambun Imbun and Sze Huei Yek. 2024. Enduring the Earthquake: Rediscovery of the Critically Endangered Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966 (Anura, Bufonidae) and its Conservation Implications.  Zootaxa. 5447(2); 253-262. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5447.2.6

 

  

[Ornithology • 2021] Otus brookii brookii • Rediscovery of Rajah Scops-Owl (Strigiformes: Strigidae) on the Island of Borneo

Otus brookii brookii  (Sharpe, 1892)

in Card, Check & Boyce, 2021. 

DOI: 10.1676/20-50  

photo: Andy Boyce NationalZoo.SI.edu

 

Abstract

The Bornean subspecies of Rajah Scops-Owl (Otus brookii brookii) has not been documented alive in the wild since its discovery in 1892 and there are no photographs of the bird in life. We report the rediscovery of this subspecies in the montane forests of Mount Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia) at an elevation of 1,650 m and provide the first photographs of this subspecies in the wild. Almost all basic elements of this species' ecology remain unknown, including vocalizations, distribution, breeding biology, and population size. Additionally, phylogeographic patterns of montane birds in Borneo and Sumatra, as well as plumage characters, suggest that O. b. brookii may be deserving of species classification. However, the rarity of O. b. brookii has made quantitative phylogenetic analysis impossible. Properly resolving the ecology, distribution, and taxonomic standing of O. b. brookii could have important conservation implications.

Key words: conservation, Malaysia, Sabah, Strigidae. 

(Bornean) Rajah Scops Owl (Otus brookii brookii) photographed at Kinabalu Park. Key features shown here include orange eyes and contrasting dark crown mottled brown and black.

photo: Andy Boyce

Emily Card, Courtney Check and Andy J. Boyce. 2021. Rediscovery of Rajah Scops-Owl (Otus brookii brookii) on the Island of Borneo. The Wilson J. of Ornithology. 132(3); 769-773. DOI: 10.1676/20-50

Bornean Rajah scops owl rediscovered after 125 years

  NationalZoo.SI.edu/news/bornean-rajah-scops-owl-rediscovered-after-125-years

  phys.org/news/2021-05-bornean-rajah-scops-owl-rediscovered.html

    

[Herpetology • 2021] Asthenodipsas ingeri • On the Taxonomic Status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis (Boulenger, 1900) (Squamata: Pareidae) in Borneo with the Description of A New Species from Mount Kinabalu, Sabah

Asthenodipsas ingeri  

Quah, Lim & Grismer, 2021

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.1.2

Abstract

The taxonomic status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis in Borneo has been plagued with uncertainty over the last eighty years. An examination of museum collections resulted in the discovery of a voucher specimen of A. vertebralis from Sarawak, East Malaysia that confirms the presence of the species in Borneo and a previously unrecognised species, Asthenodipsas ingeri sp. nov. from Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Asthenodipsas ingeri sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the combination of an absence of preoculars and suboculars, 1st and 3rd pair of infralabials in contact, two pairs of posterior inframaxillaries, supralabials 3–5 (sometimes 3 & 4) in contact with orbit, 15/15/15 rows of dorsal scales, presence of sharp vertebral keel, and divided subcaudals. This study highlights the importance of careful re-examination of museum collections that could potentially harbour new species hiding in plain sight. These discoveries also add to the growing number of reptile and amphibian species being described from Borneo that shows no signs of abating but are already potentially threatened by the continued deforestation and developments on the island.

Keywords: Reptilia, Pareas, Sundaland, slug snake, systematics, discovery, reptile, conservation, endemic biodiversity, Malaysia

Asthenodipsas ingeri sp. nov.

Evan S. H. Quah, Kelvin K. P. Lim and L. Lee Grismer. 2021. On the Taxonomic Status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis (Boulenger, 1900) (Squamata: Pareidae) in Borneo with the Description of A New Species. Zootaxa. 4949(1); 24–44. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.1.2

[Botany • 2016] Diplycosia rigidifolia sp. nov. (Ericaceae) from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia

Diplycosia rigidifolia  

P. W. Fritsch & C. M. Bush

DOI: 10.1111/njb.01245  

Abstract

Diplycosia rigidifolia sp. nov. from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia, is described and illustrated. This species is similar to D. urceolata, but differs by its shorter petiole, thicker, strictly elliptic leaf blades, longer pedicels, calyx lobes with sharply acuminate apex, and larger purplish black fruiting calyx. The species is known only from Mt Kinabalu in northern Sabah state, Malaysia.

Peter W. Fritsch and Catherine M. Bush. 2016.  Diplycosia rigidifolia sp. nov. (Ericaceae) from Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia.  Nordic Journal of Botany. DOI: 10.1111/njb.01245 

[Herpetology • 2014] Leptolalax sabahmontanus • A New Leptolalax (Anura, Megophryidae) from the Mountains of Sabah, Borneo

Leptolalax sabahmontanus 

Matsui, Nishikawa & Yambun, 2014.

DOI: 10.11646/Zootaxa.3753.5.3 

ABSTRACT

 A new species of Leptolalax is described from Kinabalu National Park in western Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The new species had been assigned to L. dringi, L. gracilis, or L. fritinniens in the past. It differs from all congeners, including these species, by a unique combination of morphological characters, including small body size, rounded snout, narrower interorbital than upper eyelid, basal toe webbing, smooth skin with tiny tubercles on dorsum and dorsal side of head, small pectoral glands, absence of supraaxillary glands and ventrolateral glandular ridges, spotted venter, advertisement call consisting of long series of 1-149 notes, each composed of three or four pulses, and dominant frequency at 6.90-7.35 kHz, without prominent frequency modulation.

Keywords: Amphibia, Leptolalax sabahmontanus sp. n., advertisement call, Sabah, mtDNA phylogeny

 Masafumi Matsui, Kanto Nishikawa and Paul Yambun. 2014. A New Leptolalax from the Mountains of Sabah, Borneo (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae).

 Zootaxa. 3753(5):440-452. DOI: 10.11646/Zootaxa.3753.5.3

ResearchGate.net/publication/261913938_A_New_Leptolalax_from_the_mountains_of_Sabah_Borneo_(Amphibia_Anura_Megophryidae)

[Botany • 2016] Pittosporum peridoticola • A New Ultramafic Obligate Species (Pittosporaceae) restricted to Kinabalu Park (Sabah, Malaysia)

Pittosporum peridoticola 

 J.B.Sugau & Ent

Fig. 1 Pittosporum peridoticola in the field: (a) Habit of plant growing on ultramafic bedrock; (b) Whole plant; (c) Inflorescence; (d) Detail of inflorescence.

Photos by A. van der Ent and R. van Vugt DOI:  10.1186/s40529-016-0119-9

Abstract

Background

Kinabalu Park, in Sabah (Malaysia) on Borneo Island, is renowned for the exceptionally high plant diversity it protects, with at least 5000 plant species enumerated to date. Discoveries of plant novelties continue to be made in Sabah, especially on isolated ultramafic outcrops, including in the genus Pittosporum (Pittosporaceae) with P. linearifolium from Bukit Hampuan on the southern border of the Park, and P. silamense from Bukit Silam in Eastern Sabah, both narrow endemics restricted to ultramafic soils.

Results

A distinctive new species of Pittosporum (Pittosporum peridoticola J.B.Sugau and Ent, sp. nov.) was discovered on Mount Tambuyukon in the north of Kinabalu Park during ecological fieldwork. The diagnostic morphological characters of this taxon are discussed and information about the habitat in which it grows is provided. The soil chemistry in the rooting zone of P. peridoticola has high magnesium to calcium quotients, high extractable nickel and manganese concentrations, but low potassium and phosphorus concentrations, as is typical for ultramafic soils. Analysis of foliar samples of various Pittosporum-species originating from ultramafic and non-ultramafic soils showed a comparable foliar elemental stoichiometry that is suggestive of ‘Excluder-type’ ecophysiology.

Conclusion

Pittosporum peridoticola is an ultramafic obligate species restricted to Kinabalu Park with only two known populations within the boundaries of the protected area. It is vulnerable to any future stochastic landscape disturbance events, such as forest fires or severe droughts, and therefore its conservation status is ‘Near Threatened’.

Keywords: Hyper-endemic; Mount Tambuyukon; Soil chemistry; Ultramafic obligate

Etymology: The specific epithet “peridoticola” denotes the peridotite (ultramafic) bedrock on which this species grows on Mount Tambuyukon and Mount Kinabalu (from ‘peridotite’ the ultramafic bedrock, and; cola (Latin)—to dwell or inhabit). Peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting of olivine and pyroxene minerals (magnesium-iron-silicates). This rock-type, to varying degrees serpentinised, is the main bedrock of ultramafic outcrops in Sabah, and forms the Mount Tambuyukon massif.

Distribution and habitat

Pittosporum peridoticola is found exclusively in ligneous scrub on extreme ultramafic soil on Mount Tambuyukon and Mount Kinabalu. The sites where it occurs are located at 1700–2500 m asl in dense vegetation consisting of shrubs (1–2 m tall). Co-occurring species include: Styphelia malayanus Jack subsp. malayanus (Ericaceae), Phyllocladus hypophyllus Hook. f. (Phyllocladaceae), Weinmannia clemensiae Steenis (Cunoniaceae), Leptospermum javanicum Blume (Myrtaceae), Wikstroemia indica (L.) C.A.Mey. (Thymelaeaceae), Lithocarpus rigidus Soepadmo (Fagaceae), Podocarpus brevifolius (Stapf) Foxw. and Dacrydium gibbsiae Stapf (Podocarpaceae). On the summit ridge of Mount Tambuyukon, Pittosporum peridoticola was found in an area of just a few hundred m2 and only a small number of individuals were seen. Similarly, the habitat on Mount Kinabalu (Mentaki Ridge) is very small, comprising of only a few individuals. Other rare regional species are also known only from populations on ultramafic soils in Kinabalu Park, for example Drosera ultramafica A.Fleischm., A.S.Rob. and S.McPherson (Droseraceae), Nepenthes rajah Hook.f. (Nepenthaceae), Calanthe otuhanica C.L.Chan and T.J.Barkman (Orchidaceae) and Weinmannia clemensiae Steenis (Cunoniaceae).

 John B. Sugau and Antony van der Ent. 2016. Pittosporum peridoticola (Pittosporaceae), A New Ultramafic Obligate Species restricted to Kinabalu Park (Sabah, Malaysia). Botanical Studies. DOI:  10.1186/s40529-016-0119-9