#Bornean tree-hole frog

[stickyfrogs]

Today’s Friend from Borneo is the Bornean Tree-hole Frog (Metaphrynella sundana)! He is singing his Beautiful Song from his hole in the middle of a tree! (Bonus Crested Toad (Ingerophrynus divergens)!)

[mellowlandstudentlove-blog]

Must see List of birds in Malaysia

Malaysia and birdwatching? Yes, sir! Aside from the fact that it is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world, Taman Negara, the avian life in Malaysia goes to a count of more of 750. If you are a birder, I know you are rubbing your hands in glee and reaching for your DSLR already. If you are a newbie to the world of bird and watching them, birdwatching in Malaysia will convert you entirely. Tick the following off your list on your next visit here. Reaching these birdwatching spots on time is a must. A bus will take you there easily and much quicker than a train. Quickly book your tickets from https://www.redbus.my/  to save further time.

Rhinoceros hornbill: Around 10 species of the Hornbill found in Malaysia, of which the Rhinoceros hornbill is the most beautiful of the lot with its crown resembling a horn. The best places to spot all the 10 species is the Temenggor Lake in Perak between August to September or the Kenyir Lake in Terengganu. The rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) is a large species of forest hornbill (Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests up to 1,400 metres altitude in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and southern Thailand.  Male and female hornbills look the same. Its just that the mail hornbill has an orange or red ring around its eyes and the female hornbill has a white ring. Hornbills mainly eat fruits and insects, but you may be surprised to see them prey on small reptiles, rodents and also small birds.

Malayan peacock-pheasant:

Endemic to peninsular Malaysia, it finds itself listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN rankings. A glimpse at this striking bird—blue-green eyes and chartreuse-coloured tail-feather markings on the males—can be sought at Taman Negara. The Malayan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron malacense) also known as crested peacock-pheasant or Malaysian peacock-pheasant, is a medium-sized pheasant of the galliform family Phasianidae. Males can be identified by a combination of the base colour and they have buff coloured rings surrounding each ocelli.  Females have a very short crest and they are smaller is size they have a little shorter and darker tail than the mailes and their facial skin is a little yellowish in colour. The closely related Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri) was formerly included here as a subspecies, but as understood today, P. malacense is monotypic.

Stork Billed kingfisher: Its colours quite resemble the national flag and to spot any of the eight species of this bird, a trip to Langkawi is what you must make. They have the capacity to hover round in water for hours together. They mostly feed on fresh water fish. At times you will also find them eating rodents and sometimes preying frogs. They either make their nests by digging holes in a decaying tree or they make nests close to river banks. 

[zoomology]

Frogs? Amphibians? What’s the Fuss?

I have always loved frogs, ever since I was a little boy.

I still haven’t put my finger on what exactly mesmerises me so much. Is it their slippery skin, their hopping legs and huge eyes? Is it their diversity, the number of different body shapes and colours they exhibit? Is it that they have semi-permiable skin by which they absorb oxygen, that some lay eggs that are translucent so you can see the young develop? Is it that some frogs carry their tadpoles/froglets on their back or even in their mouths? Is it that they undergo a dramatic metamorphosis from tadpole to frog? Is it that they are found on every continent except Antarctica, and that amphibians have existed on Earth for over 300 million years? Or, is it that nearly 168 species are believed to have gone extinct in the last two decades and more than 43% of the world’s amphibian species are in decline?

It is all these things and more.

I believe frogs to be particularly worthy of our interest and conservation, especially due to the worrying global amphibian population declines that appear to be one of the most severe examples of the Holocene extinction. The unprecedented loss of amphibians will have severe implications for global biodiversity.

Finding Frogs in Borneo

During our recent visit to Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo, I was desperate to get out at night and photograph as many frogs as possible. Walking up and down the track from the jetty to the Centre we saw many species. We also managed to join Juan (a researcher at the Centre) and a few local guides during their field work which gave me more time to search. The following are some of the species we encountered.

Species Encountered

Family: Dicroglossidae

Fejervarya limnocharis [ASIAN GRASS FROG]

Limnonectes finchi [ROUGH GUARDIAN FROG] with tadpoles

Family: Microhylidae

Metaphrynella sundana [BORNEAN TREE-HOLE FROG]

Microhyla borneensis [MATANG NARROW-MOUTHED FROG]

Family: Ranidae

Chalcorana chalconota [WHITE-LIPPED FROG]

Hylarana glandulosa [ROUGH-SIDED FROG]

Family: Rhacophoridae

Kurixalus appendiculatus [FRILLED-TREE FROG]

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Polypedates leucomystax [FOUR-LINED TREE FROG]

Polypedates macrotis [DARK-EARED TREE FROG]

To see larger versions of the above photos, click on the thumbnails below.

Limnonectes finchi [ROUGH GUARDIAN FROG] with tadpoles

Chalcorana chalconota [WHITE-LIPPED FROG]

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Kurixalus appendiculatus [FRILLED-TREE FROG]

Microhyla borneensis [MATANG NARROW-MOUTHED FROG]

Polypedates leucomystax [FOUR-LINED TREE FROG]

Fejervarya limnocharis [ASIAN GRASS FROG]

Metaphrynella sundana [BORNEAN TREE-HOLE FROG]

Hylarana glandulosa [ROUGH-SIDED FROG]

Polypedates macrotis [DARK-EARED TREE FROG]

Although we managed to see a good number of species, there were many more we didn’t come across. I guess you can’t see everything you want at once. The only remedy is a return visit and more time exploring the forest. Well then, until next time!

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Want to Read More?

If you’d like to read more about our trip to Borneo and the wildlife we encountered there, check out some of our other blog posts here:

References and Further Reading

Amphibia Website – https://amphibiaweb.org/declines/declines.html (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Asian Grass Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58275/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Bornean Tree-hole Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/57872/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Collett’s Tree Frog –  http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58942/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Dark-eared Tree Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58955/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Four-lined Tree Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58953/0(Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red list Website, Frilled tree frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58972/0(Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Matang Narrow Mouthed Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/57877/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Rough Guardian Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58333/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Rough-sided Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58603/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, White-lipped Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58568/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

Wikipedia Website, Decline in Amphibian Populations – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_amphibian_populations (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

A few #forest #frogs from our adventures in #Borneo. 🐸🐸🐸 #Kinabatangan #Sabah #Malaysia Frogs? Amphibians? What's the Fuss? I have always loved frogs, ever since I was a little boy.