THE PANGOLIN A QUARTERLY BULLETIN ON TTIE VERTEBRATES(EXCEPT BIRDS) OF SINGAPOREAND TTIE SURROI'NDING F€GION SingaporeBranch ofthe MalayanNature Society VolumeIV, Number1 March1991 .R-.v\ IndiarElephant -i<fi;' Elephasmaximus :'ili '_-r *.rrJ .t- t-:-r-.-r -1 :::-'- - ':^..'<::=-;>-.-4 ?i - 1 -:=-'t- -=:-;- -i)2"-! MITA(P)22316/91 Publishedby theSingapore Braocb of theMalayao Natlre Society' Prioredby CampusSupplies, National Uoivc.sity of Siogapore EDITORIAL From the current issue onwards, copies of The Pangolin will be printed in this compact mannerto enableeasier postage handiing. We will continueto report notablerecords of vertebratefauna from Singaporeand the surroundingareas. To maintainthis exercise'we strongly urge you, the sub;ciiber, to contribute sighiing, and newspaperclippings on local vertebrate fauna. we have also included records of animals from Indonesia (especially the nearby Rhiau Islands), East Malaysia and Thailand, as more of our membersare travelling beyond PeninsularMalaysia and havecontributed some noteworthy records. The Editor apologisesfor the late publication of this issue.ofIfte Pangolin. Hewould, at the sametime, like td assuresubscribers that they will receivelater issueson time' Thank you for your patienceand support! TheEditor CONTENTS Records for the first quarterly, 1991 Mammals- compiledby S.H. Yeo Singapore I PeninsularMalaysia ............. ) Reptiles& Amphibians- compiledby KelvinK P.Lim Singapore .) PeninsularMalaysia ............. Fishes- compiledby Kelvin K P. Lim & PeterK L. Ng Singapore ) PeninsularMalaysia ............. BruneiDarussalam ............... 6 Indonesia 7 The Pangolin 4(I) RECORDS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER' 1991 Thesereports are based on observationsby a widespectrum of Peopleresidio^g.in singapore Unlessotherwise stated, thseditor regards these records to be tairly accurate' derivins"nO"i."*nbr". iudsement from considerations of thedegtee 6f sightcorroboration, telling descriptive ;;ili;-";ft-;;;;;"n." of1h" oUs"rversinvolved:To avoi-dinaccuracies as. far as^possible,the ;il;i.;;;;;'"ll .onir;-uuiortto.ubmit theirreports with detaileddescriptions. of theanimals, phoiogrupr''if thesebe available.Please note that all sightor sound ;il;rti;;;;;;;;t;; as ;;;;d;-i" rtt'abJenie of altual specimensor good photographs,will be treated unconfirmed. List of Contributors ChewYenFook(CYF),GilbertVande-rsticheleo(cg,GeorseLiew(GL)'GohSiGuim (c5cj; bri.* u; aj!! kgfin K' F' Lim('KL), Li-Kok wee Ho'h'o tAHcl,l.rrii,i MargieHall i;Kirij,il;'Kt*S"ng\r-rsi, Lynd<incan'(LC), Maurice Kottelat (MK.), itt'Hi,'M;;;Siiung. (lvis;,iiui's*eet (PS),Petrlr.K. L' Ng(PN)' R' Subharaj(-sR)'-Rae ii;;;til-aRHj, Robirth.Iriger(RI), sutdri Sirpari (s[l)' ran rui Lian(TFL),-Tan King iil;;?iidii,'Tan Mei Linf(iilIlj'Yeo PengHov (YPFI)' Yeo Suav Hwee (YSH)' Mohd' Zakaria-lsmail(ZI). MAMMALS compiledby S.H. Yeo SingaPore Common Frnit Btt (Cynopterusbrachyotis) ySH & TML foundthese roosti;g in sdveraipalm trees near the entranceof Lower Peirce ReservoirPark in March. Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notans) Oneat Senokoon 13/1(SBS). Cream-coloured Giant Squirrel (Ratufa ffinis) o;;;;;ih; NeeSoon sriamp-forest in Deaember,1990 bv MS (lateentry)' Matay Civet (Viverratangalunga) regularly e'f;r.gi"g";;;; civlt (description not submitie<ibut reponedto be of this species)was observed i"mf t onPulau Tekong irFebruary by LKW' (Panthe ra rdtts) I-eopard Pa treenear Sg' Lcfili"oi.r thata iellow'nationalserviceman had seen a leopardsleeping in a Belangmangroves on PulauTekong in February' MalayanPangolin (Manis javanica) wa.s in a fir" fti.* Pape-r,dated 8.6.1991, u reportof anadult pangolin which jolnd i" Wfii;hs iousing Xtaie"o.ii.t thenight b;fore, and.sent to theneishbourhood Police Pct tr* thereport whereit waslater referreO to ttri zoo. Tfie animalwas bleeding from ihe nose'and ii,utii*ura rtu".u"*L:"i"a ti" tryingtoiross the road' ;G;;G ".iwtrile Singapore Branch of the Malayan Nanre Socbty Asian Elephant (Elephasmaximus) fn. upp"uiun""oia iingle bull elephanton PulauUbin in lateFebruary to early,March-was well-p-dblicisedby thelocal mass media. It apparentlyfuelled the touristic value of PulauUbin overnight.However, very few visitorsgot to seethe elephant for the Policepromptly closed the islandoff to the public. SR reportshaving caught a glimpseof this animalin dense secondarygrowth on 3/3. Like its predecessorswhich had stayedtemporarily on Pulau Tekonglisfyear, theelephant was expertly and peacefully removed by theMalaysian Wildlife Departmentin abouta week'stime and"deported" back to Johor. Dugong(Dugong dugon) LKW reportsthaisea cows were seen by fishermenin the JohorStraits off Kg. Pasir,Pulau Tekong,diving and surfacing like dolphinsin February.Sea grass is saidto be abundant there. Wild Pig (Susscrofa) LKW reportsthat his fellow nationalservicemen had seen a herd of aroundforty to fifty individualson PulauTekong in January. Peninsular Malaysia LesserTreeshrew (Tupaia minor) YSH & TML identiiiedas this species,one tree shrew they sawat Desaru,Johor (92) and two othersat GunungPanti, Johor (192). Pig-tailedMacaque (Macaca nemestrina) On1seen on thegiound along Highway 3 to Mersing,near Gunung Muntahak, Johor on 1713 (YPH). Dusky Leaf Monkey (Presbyrisobscura) Severalalong the Muntahak logging track, Johor on 278 (SR). Banded Leaf Monkey (Presbytisfenwralis) YSH & TML heardthe call of thisspecies at Desaru,Johor on 92. White-handed Gibbon (Hylobates lar) SBS reportshaving observed an unusuallylarge party of 12 individualson a tree at Kota Tinggi,Johor on f6l9l1990(late entry). Flying Lemur (Cynocephalu.s varie gatus) Oie observedbi a verticaltree irunk in forestat Kota Tinngi, Johor on 161911990 (SBS,HHC,TKP)(late entry). Plantain Squirrel (Cal/osciurus notatus) Oneat Pantiforest, Johor on 19/2(YSH,TML). Black-bandedSquirrel (Callosciurw nigrovittatus) Oneat Pantiforest, Johor on 19/2(YSH,TML). Cream-colouredGiant Squirrel(Ratufa affinis) Oneobserved near a streamby SBSat KotaTinggi, Johor on 16/9/1990(late entry)' Red-cheekedGround Squirrel (Drenomysrufigenis) A singleindividual sighted along Bishop's tiail, Fraser'sHill, Pahangon 30/3(SR,G$. Shrew.facedGround Squirrel (Rhirwsci.uruslaticaudans) Oneseen at Pasohforest, Negri Sembilan on 222 (SR,G$. 2 ThePangolin 4(1) Spiny Rat (Ratlussp.) A sniall rat seenand iemporarilyrestrained by LG & SR in a chaletat the Kota Tinggi waterfalls,Johor, was found to havespines in its fur. Its identityis uncertain. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS compiledby KelvinK P.Lim Singapore ReticulatedPython (Pythonreticulatus) 1. one, at leasit1o iicies, foundsquashed along the 29 km mark,Lim Chu Kang Roadon 2111(RH). i. nft r(o releasedin the forestof Lower PeirceResewoir on272, an individualabout 6 ft. long caughtin a chickenfarm in thewest ofSingapore Island. Indo-ChineseRat Snake(Ptyas korros) 1. One,about 48 inches,found freshly squashed along Lorong Pas,u on 16/1(RlI) ' - . i. enoth"r deadspecimen, about 4{i inihes, at the WoodlandsCentre ring road/bridgeof SungeiMandai Kechil on 271 (RH)' Striped Kukri Snake(Oligodon octolineaus) e ii-in"tt specimenfou'nd slquashed by vehicleSon a trackoff Jalanulu Sembawang(Mandai Village)on aE $H). Painted Bronzeback(Dendrelaphis pictus) Seenin a gardenat King'sAvenue, Sembawang by MH on 18/1,22 afi172' ParadiseTree Snake(Cft rysopelea paradis, i- e eo to 36-inchi;dividu;l seeticrossirirg Neo Tiew Lane,track 6 on 2111,had the '..... followinecolour pattern: black,with broadorange bands across. Body (slender) w-as a Liigitt gr?.n,*itfr blackmarkings, and the redonl/ appearedon the lattersection of his body...'(RH). Z. i t+'cn Jpecimenkilled by a catat King'sAvenue, Sembawang on 162 (MH)' Twin-barred Tree Snake(Chrysopelea pelias) One,at least70 cm, obsewedat fheilee S6onS*amp-fotest on77l3 (YSH'TML)' Dog-toothedCat Snake(Boiga cynodon) tKS collecteda freshly diad"speiimenaiong Old UpperThomson Road on 30/3' It is presentlypreserved at theZRC. Striped Keefback (Xenochrophisvittatus) Sevenrecords, all by RH: i. One,about 2O inches, freshly squashed by theside ofsungei'Tengah Road, on 16i1' 2. Another,about l5 inches,dead and squashed by theside of NeoTiew Lane, on z1ll' J. a tfri.O, about22 inchei, squashed6y the sideof the road at Kranji ResewoirPark on 'r1/1 +. One,about 24 inches,ran over by vehiclesat 19km mark,Lim, Chu Kang. Road on 613' 5. Ano'ther,about 15 inches, slithered across Jalan Bahtera (near Scout c-amp)-on 6/3' - O. V"i -oitt"r. uboutl0 incires,on a grasstrack near the Scbut camp at JalanBahtera on 7/3- 7. A dead,about 17-inch specimen at JalanUlu Sembawangon 1413. Singapore Branch of the Malayan Nante Socizty Spotted Keelback (fuIacropophismaculatus) CyF photosraphedin exarirpieof this fairly raresnake (slightly over 30 cm in total length) swall6wing-aiommon Tree-frog (Polypedatesleucomystax) in January,at about4 pm, at the forestedge along Thomson Ridge. Black Spitting Cobn (Naia sumatrana) 1. Founi freshlysquashed, one, about 27 inches,on Neo Tiew l,ane,track 10, about1oo metrqsfrom thedntrince ofthe SungeiBuloh Bird Sanctuaryon 2711(RH). 2. Onedisturbed by grasscutting ai King'sAvenue, Sembawang on 22 (MH). Mangrove Pit Viper (Irim eresuruspurpureomaculatus) . Onefiund in thejrourids of theCoralarium, Sentosa, in Februaryby a gardener(LG). Marbled Forest Gecko(C y r todncty lus quadriv ir gatus) PN observedone on a concrbtepipe in theNee Soon Swamp-forest on thenight of 1/1. EstuurineCrocodile (C rocodylus porosus) LKW reportsthat such ieptiles ire s6metimelseen by his fellow nationalservicemen basking on thebanks of Sg.Seminei