The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Year of the Dragon: More Dragon Slugs

2012-01-30T22:05:00.000+08:00

(Photo by paulhypnos)

Yesterday, we looked at a species of marine slug known as the blue dragon nudibranch, one that is seen quite often on reefs in Singapore waters. Today, my post will focus on a very different nudibranch that shares the same name.

If you thought nudibranchs in general were weird, the sea swallow (Glaucus atlanticus), which is also sometimes known as the blue sea slug, the blue dragon, or sea lizard, is truly one of the most bizarre. It's a small creature, growing up to 3 centimetres in length, and certainly isn't very slug-like in appearance. It does not crawl about on the seabed, but is pelagic, floating just beneath the surface. It has a circumglobal distribution, and is found in both temperate and tropical waters all over the world. The sea swallow has apparently been known to occur in Singapore, although these records most likely represent strays from the open sea.

(Photo by paulhypnos)

The sea swallow swims upside down, so we are actually looking at its underside when seen from above.

Like many other nudibranchs, the sea swallow is a voracious predator, and preys on other pelagic organisms that drift at the surface. These include the violet snail (Janthina janthina), which creates a raft of air bubbles that enables it to float; the hydroids known as the blue button (Porpita porpita) and by-the-wind sailor (Velella velella), and even the large and dangerously venomous Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis). The sea swallow is immune to the venom secreted by the Portuguese man o' war, and simply slowly nibbles off pieces of its prey with impunity.

Violet snails stranded on the shore;
(Photo by tr1stero)

Blue button;
(Photo by paulhypnos)

By-the-wind sailor;
(Photo by polandeze)

Portuguese man o' war;
(Photo by mcmillend)

Sea swallow with blue button;
(Photo by paulhypnos)

Sea swallows attacking Portuguese man o' war;
(Photos by Scott and Jeanette Johnson, from Kwajalein Underwater)

Like many other nudibranchs, the sea swallow is actually able to select and store the cnidocytes (stinging cells) of its prey, which are collected in special sacs called cnidosacs at the tips of the cerata, the thin, fleshy projections on the body. As a result, the sea swallow has actually co-opted the stinging ability of its prey and used it for its own defence. Because the sea swallow selects and concentrates the most venomous cnidocytes in its cerata, it can actually cause stings more severe than the Portuguese man o' war itself!

(Photo by paulhypnos)

While the sea swallow is able to swim, although it is still very much subject to the vagaries of the weather and currents. For many beachgoers, their encounters with sea swallows involved stumbling upon those that are left stranded on the shore by strong winds or stormy weather.

(Photo by Ann McLeod Images)

(Photo by mister fez)

Coming up next, some dragon-like fish.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon Slugs

2012-01-29T22:40:00.000+08:00

Beting Bronok;
(Photo by Ria)

Yes, even soft, spineless creatures can be named after dragons.

The blue dragon nudibranch (Pteraeolidia ianthina) is an inhabitant of reefs throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific, and is a relatively common nudibranch in Singapore. It's small, at just 3 to 5 centimetres long, but the tufts of often bright blue projections from its body (known as cerata) definitely make it stand out.

Beting Bronok;

Kusu Island;
(Photos by Ria)

The blue dragon nudibranch, like most other nudibranchs, is a carnivore, specialising on relatives of corals and jellyfishes known as hydroids. Adults in particular seem to favour hydroids belonging to the genus Ralpharia. Juveniles, on the other hand, have been seen among a different sort of hydroid, one that forms short, fuzzy growths, almost like a miniature 'turf'.

Ralpharia magnifica, Victoria;
(Photo by Greg Fisk)

Interestingly enough, the blue dragon nudibranch is an a slug that has actually managed to harness the power of the sun. It harbours symbiotic zooxanthellae within ducts of the digestive gland in the cerata and in the body wall. And just like how these zooxanthellae sustain organisms such as hard corals and giant clams, so these symbionts manufacture sugars through photosynthesis, which the host (in this case, the nudibranch) absorbs for its own growth and nourishment. Blue dragon nudibranchs can supposedly go without for some time, sustained by the energy derived from the zooxanthellae in their bodies.

Sisters Islands;
(Photo by Ria)

Unlike other solar-powered sea slugs, which sequester chloroplasts from the algae they consume, the blue dragon nudibranch and many other nudibranchs that have adopted this ability to 'farm' and nurture zooxanthellae within their tissues first obtain zooxanthellae from the prey they consume. However, in the case of the blue dragon nudibranch, the hydroids that it's known to feed on lack zooxanthellae, so the source of its zooxanthellae remains unknown. Is it absorbing zooxanthellae from the surrounding seawater? Or is there another prey species that is supplying the blue dragon nudibranch with zooxanthellae?

St. John's Island;
(Photo by James)

Young blue dragon nudibranchs lack zooxanthellae and tend to be pale, nearly whitish in colour. Only after developing their own crop of zooxanthellae do they take on a more brownish coloration.

Pulau Semakau;
(Photos by James)

Coming up next, another slug that is also sometimes called the blue dragon.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon flowers

2012-01-28T21:38:00.000+08:00

(Photo by Jörg Hempel)

It is amazing just how so many different creatures can be associated with dragons for some really spurious reasons. Take for example, the chinchillas (Chinchilla spp.), whose Chinese name of 龙猫 ('dragon cat') is due to the fact that they resemble a Japanese anime character who bears that same name in Chinese translations. Or the dragon trees (Dracaena spp.), named after their reddish sap that was extracted and marketed as the blood of mythical reptiles. And don't get me started on dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.); the only possible link with dragons I think of comes from the apparently scaly fruits and spiny succulent stems.

With the various flowers named after dragons though, the connection with the mythical fire-breathing reptiles turns even more tenuous.

The dragon arum (Dracunculus vulgaris), also known as the voodoo lily, is an aroid that grows in the Balkans, Greece, Crete, and southwestern Anatolia in Turkey. It has also been introduced to parts of the United States. In Greece, the plant is known as drakondia, with the long spadix (or spike) being viewed as a small dragon hiding in the spathe (the modified petal-like leaf). Don't ask me, that's what Wikipedia says, and this factoid is repeated in a number of other sites. Anyone from Greece able to verify this claim?

In any case, the dragon arum has a shape that's commonly found in aroids. Think of it as a miniature version of the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), which I wrote about back in December 2010.

(Photo by Mafate79)

(Photos by JohnS2233)

Like the titan arum and many other aroids, the dragon arum gives off a foul smell reminiscent of rotting meat, which attracts carrion flies that serve as pollinators. The dragon arum also 'traps' the flies that visit; they slide down the smooth surface of the spathe, and are unable to crawl up and fly out of the flower. In the meantime, they wander around helplessly over the surface of the stigma of the female flowers at the bottom, fertilising them with pollen gathered from other flowers. A day later, the anthers open, dusting the flies with pollen, while the rest of the flower begins to wither, and the flies are freed to visit and pollinate other flowers.

Note the flies on this dragon arum flower;
(Photo by Brian (aka treehugger_007))

More information about the dragon arum can be found here at this page by the International Aroid Society, as well as this page with plenty of photos.

The dragon arum has a relative known as the Canary dragon aroid (Dracunculus canariensis), which has white flowers, and is endemic to the Canary Islands and Madeira in the east Atlantic.

(Photo by Tony Rodd)

Another flower that owes its common name to the mythical fire-breathing reptiles is the snapdragon (Antirrhinum spp.), of which there are more than 30 species found in the Mediterranean region as well as in California. The common snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), originally native to the Mediterrranean region from Portugal and Morocco east to Turkey and Syria, is popular as a garden ornamental.

(Photo by Peter Greenwoods)

(Photo by Marlis1)

The name 'snapdragon' comes from the fact that squeezing the 'throat' of the flower causes the petal 'lips' to open.

Apparently, people love to upload videos of them using snapdragon flowers as miniature talking and singing puppets. Oh, my sides.

(Photos by eszsara)

Besides dragon arums and snapdragons, there are also orchids that have dragon-based names.

The dragon's mouth orchid (Arethusa bulbosa) grows in bogs, swamps, and other humid areas of eastern North America.

(Photo by Native Orchids)

(Photo by ER Post)

(Photo by golforchid)

(Photo by sloanbj)

While the dragon orchids (Caladenia spp.), represented here by the common dragon orchid (Caladenia barbarossa), are a group of 4 species endemic to western Australia, sometimes split off in their own genus (Drakonorchis).

(Photo by Madfish WA)

The dragon orchids (and several other orchids) actually rely on deception to attract the insects that they rely on for pollination. In flower wasps (F. Thynnidae), the flightless female crawls to the top of a stem, and attracts the male by releasing pheromones. The male flies in, carries her off, and they copulate. The dragon orchid has a strangely-shaped labellum (or lip), that is actually supposed to resemble the abdomen of a female flower wasp. The orchid even gives off pheromones similar to those released by the female flower wasp! As a result, a male flower wasp soon flies over to investigate. When he grabs the labellum and attempts to fly off with it, thinking that it's a receptive female, the hinged labellum flicks the male wasp against the main column of the flower, pressing him against it momentarily. When he flies off, confused, he carries pollen from the dragon orchid attached to his back. Should he fall for the same trick and visit another dragon orchid, the pollen he is now carrying will fertilise the other orchid.

In this series of photos, a male flower wasp is first flicked against the pollen-bearing main column, with the pollen visible in the second photo;
(Photos by Mitsuhiko Imamori, from AnimalsandEarth)

(Photo by Briarah - aka Tina)

I'm not sure if there are any more flowers named after dragons. Honestly, the connection is weak, but I guess naming an organism is as much about one's creativity and imagination as it is about describing said organism's distinctive physical features.

Next up: Back to animals, and this time, we'll take a look at some very dragon-like creatures that live underwater.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon Trees and Dragon's Blood

2012-01-27T21:26:00.000+08:00

(Photo by Ayala Moriel)

Carrying on the theme of posts on organisms that are somehow associated with dragons, we now come to another interesting group of plants.

The genus Dracaena is a group of about 40 species, belonging to the family Asparagaceae. Yes, they're distant relatives of the asparagus we eat (Asparagus officinalis). The name comes from ancient Greek - δράκαινα (drakaina, or 'female dragon'). The majority of species are native to Africa, with a few in southern Asia and one species in Central America. The hala pepe (Pleomele spp.), 6 tree species endemic to Hawaii, are closely related, and are commonly included in Dracaena, as are the 70 or so species of mother-in-law's tongue or snake plants (Sansevieria spp.) of Africa.

Several species of Dracaena grow to large sizes, and are known by the common name of 'dragon tree'. Perhaps the most familiar of these would be the Canary Islands dragon tree (Dracaena draco), originally found in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, and parts of western Morocco. It's commonly grown as an ornamental plant due to its shape, which is the result of its interesting growth pattern.

(Photo by hellos1011)

When young it does not look like a tree at all, and has a single stem.

(Photo by Mike Peacock 2005)

At about 10–15 years of age the stems stops growing and produces a flower spike with white, lily-like perfumed flowers.

(Photo by Milhafre)

These are then followed by small red berries.

(Photo by Mr.Enjoy)

Soon a crown of terminal buds appear and the plant starts branching. Each branch grows for about 10–15 years and re-branches, so a mature plant takes on an umbrella-like shape.

(Photo by Jano Labs)

(Photo by Abraxas3d)

(Photo by dorien)

One particularly notable individual stands close to the Church of San Marcos in Icod de los Vinos, on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Growing 22 metres in height, it is said to be a thousand years old, hence its local name, El Drago Milenario ('Thousand-Year-Old Dragon'). Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify this claim, as Dracaena do not lay down annual rings in their trunks, so you cannot tell its age by counting the rings. Still, it is possibly several hundred years old, and is an icon of the area.

(Photo by Nellie Dean)

(Photo by Los viajes de Jota)

(Photo by Aitor Améztegui)

Despite being common in horticulture, where it is considered a hardy houseplant that does not require a lot of watering, in the wild populations of Canary Islands dragon tree have declined to such an extent that it is considered Vulnerable to extinction due to habitat destruction and grazing. Several hundred individuals are still present in the Canary Islands, whereas in Madeira, where the species was once an important component of the vegetation in more arid areas, the population has declined to just 2 individuals. Another population is found in the Cape Verde Islands, while several thousand were discovered in the mountains of western Morocco only in 1996.

Gran Canaria dragon tree (Dracaena tamaranae), Gran Canaria;
(Photo by scott.zona)

Another species, the Gran Canaria dragon tree, was recognised as a distinct species only in the late 1990s. Endemic to the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, where it grows on exposed cliffs and escarpments, it is known to occur only in a few localities, and so most probably qualifies for Critically Endangered status.

Nubian dragon tree (Dracaena ombet), Egypt;
(Photo by Bassem Amer)

Yemen dragon tree (Dracaena serrulata), Oman;
(Photo by Johannes D. Mayer)

The Nubian dragon tree is an Endangered species that grows on mountains in the deserts of northern Africa, in countries like Egypt and Sudan, with the Ethiopian and Somalian populations sometimes considered to be a separate species, the Ethiopian dragon tree (Dracaena schizantha). The Yemen dragon tree, another Endangered species that grows in similar habitats in the southern Arabian Peninsula, might possibly belong to the same species as the Nubian dragon tree.

One more species of dragon tree, the Socotra dragon tree (Dracaena cinnabari), is a Vulnerable species that is a flagship for the endemic flora of Socotra, a small island off the Horn of Africa.

(Photo by Edoardo Scepi)

(Photo by jan_vandorpe)

Interestingly enough, the Canary Islands dragon tree and Socotra dragon tree are supposedly more closely related to one another, while the Gran Canaria dragon tree appears to be more closely related to the dragon trees of mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It has been suggested that the current distribution of dragon trees is a relict of a time when these plants were more widespread across northern Africa, millions of years ago.

As the Sahara spread, the dragon trees retreated to the eastern and western edges of the continent, where there is more moisture due to winds blowing in from the sea. 1 lineage of dragon tree managed to colonise the Canary Islands and Morocco in the west and Socotra in the east, giving rise to the Canary Island and Socotra dragon trees respectively. Another closely related yet separate lineage also inadvertently ended up with a similar distribution, with the western population in the Canary Islands surviving today as the Gran Canaria dragon tree, and the eastern populations, which were separated from one another by the many rift valleys in the region, evolving into the Nubian, Ethiopian, and Yemen species.

A: Dispersal and colonization from the African mainland make the Macaronesian Islands a refuge for several species of Dracaena;
B: African Grand Rift leads to the disruption and vicariance of Dracaena in the Red Sea region;
(Diagrams from Marrero et al., 1998)

The dragon trees get their common name from the reddish sap that is exuded when the bark is cut, which is known as dragon's blood. Pliny the Elder wrote that this substance was produced by the mingling of blood from a battle between an elephant and a dragon, while another myth states that dragon trees sprouted from the blood of Landon, the hundred-headed dragon slain by Hercules.

Dragon's blood;
(Photo by Andy Dingley, from Wikipedia)

In ancient Rome, dragon's blood was used as a dye and medicine, in incense, and in alchemy. Until the Medieval and Renaissance periods, when the reddish sap of other plants was also extracted and marketed as dragon's blood, the primary source of this substance were dragon trees, in particular the Socotra and Canary Islands species. In the 18th century, dragon's blood was used as toothpaste, and also as a wood varnish for Italian violin-makers.

Dragon's blood is apparently an ingredient in this traditional medicated oil from Hong Kong;
(Photo by Jason Pym)

Today, however, due to their threatened status, extraction of sap from dragon trees has declined greatly. Instead, dragon's blood is more likely to consist of resin extracted from the sap of other Dracaena species, especially Dracaena cochinchinensis from southern China and Indochina, or from the fruits of Southeast Asian rattan palms, in particular several species of Daemonorops and Calamus rotang. Other plant species, such as the bloodwood tree (Pterocarpus officinialis) of tropical Central and South America and the Caribbean, various species of croton (Croton spp.) of Central and South America, and leatherstem (Jatropha dioica) of northern Mexico and southern United States, also produce a red latex that has been gathered and sold as dragon's blood.

Leatherstem;
(Photo by jphirata)

Grove of Sangre de Grado (Croton lechleri);

Trunk of Sangre de Grado, showing cuts that have been made to stimulate the flow of sap;
(Photos by rickpickett)

Dragon's blood is still used as a varnish, in photoengraving, in incense, as a body oil, and in traditional medicine, although the properties definitely vary depending on the species of plant used as the source of dragon's blood. There doesn't seem to be any real distinction being made between dragon's blood extracted from dragon tree sap, or resin from other plant species. Similarly, the Roman definition of dragon's blood also included mixtures that incorporated the toxic compound cinnabar (mercury sulphide).

(Photo by sandySTC)

The rest of the Dracaena species are smaller shrubs that grow in tropical forests. Many of these are popular in the ornamental plant trade. One species in particular features quite heavily in Chinese New Year decorations.

(Photo by gr8fyl1973)

(Photo by bernardoh)

In many Asian markets and florists, it is easy to come upon what is called 'lucky bamboo', stem cuttings that have been bent and twisted into elaborate shapes, and often considered to bring good luck and fortune.

(Photo by {shilpa})

(Photos by Tom and Jules Frost)

These stalks aren't actually bamboo (Bambuseae, F. Poaceae), but are those of a Dracaena known as Dracaena sanderiana. It is a shrubby plant that grows in the understorey of rainforests in Cameroon, west Africa, but due to its recent 'rebranding' and marketing as being good for feng shui, has suddenly seen an upsurge in popularity in Chinese communities around the world. Naturally, this is a very recent development, and goes to show the power of marketing strategies, especially when it concerns superstitious beliefs in Chinese culture.

The twists and spirals are created by altering the direction of light, as well as through binding and tying the stems. As the stalk grows, it tends to grow towards the light, and by subtly shifting the light source, one can soon create a spiral.

(Photo by photographer695)

(Photo by williewonker)

(Photo by Andrew Vogel)

There are even more complicated patterns, which are more expensive.

(Photo by Pics @ Jiny's)

(Photo by Ian Riley)

Dracaena sanderiana is a hardy plant that isn't too demanding and does well indoors, so these stalks should survive for some time, although it is generally recommended that one transfer these stalks of 'lucky bamboo' to a proper pot with soil if one decides to grow them in the long term.

(Photo by LeticiaTootington)

Coming up next, another plant that has been associated with dragons.

Year of the Dragon: Dragon fruit

2012-01-26T23:45:00.000+08:00

(Photo by daria_weber)

Moving away from animals for a while, this post will look at a plant that is familiar to most of us, and is linked to dragons by name.

"Dragon fruit" is the market name for the large, edible fruits of several species of cactus. In their native range of Central and South America, they are typically called sweet pitaya. In Southeast Asia, however, the local name for the fruit reflects some sort of association with dragons.

Chinese: 火龙果 ('fire dragon fruit') and 龙珠果 ('dragon pearl fruit');
Vietnamese: thanh long ('sweet dragon');
Bahasa Indonesia & Bahasa Malaysia: buah naga ('dragon fruit');
Laotian: mark mang gohn (ໝາກມັງກອນ) ('dragon fruit');
Thai: kaeo mangkon (แก้วมังกร) ('dragon crystal');

There are 3 species commonly found in the trade.

(Photos by chris 9)

Red pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) is the most common form in cultivation, and is grown both as a fruit crop and as an ornamental vine. The fruits have red skin with white flesh. It's so widely distributed across the tropics that its original native habitat is unknown, although it's likely to have come from somewhere in Central America. It may be the result of hybridisation between 2 wild species of Hylocereus.

(Photo by Matt Molloy)

The Costa Rica pitaya (Hylocereus costaricensis) is found from Guatemala to northeast Peru, and bears fruits which have red skin and purple flesh.

(Photos by craigiest)

Yellow pitaya (Hylocereus megalanthus) is found in South America, in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. As its name suggests, the fruits have yellow skin and white flesh.

Pitaya plants themselves are vine-like cacti, which grow not in the desert, but in tropical forests with moderate rainfall. In the wild, they climb or clamber on trees, and produce aerial roots that help in securing a foothold on tree trunks as the pitaya plant reaches for whatever sunlight filters through the dense canopy.

(Photo by 3Point141)

(Photo by ccj004)

(Photo by peipei15)

Pitaya can also be grown indoors as a houseplant. They grow easily in moist, well-drained soil, and do well with warm temperatures and plenty of sunlight.

(Photo by blumenbiene)

The large flowers are white, fragrant, and bloom at night. It's no surprise that bats are among the most important pollinators of pitaya flowers, although bees may also pollinate those flowers that are still in bloom during daylight hours. The flowers can be eaten, or steeped and used to brew tea.

Flower of red pitaya;
(Photo by .Krol.)

Flower of Costa Rica pitaya;
(Photo by frank_ou)

Flower of yellow pitaya;
(Photo by blue foot)

Today, Vietnam is one of the most important growers of dragon fruit in Southeast Asia, although pitaya are cultivated in most countries throughout the region.

(Photo by freckles_the_cat)

(Photo by jpg-ana)

Dragon fruit is said to have a lot of health benefits; they're low in sugar, and red-skinned pitayas are a good source of Vitamin C. Dragon fruit is rich in fiber and minerals such as phosphorus and calcium, with red pitayas being richer in the former, and yellow ones having more of the latter. They also contain significant quantities of antioxidants. However, consuming significant amounts of red-fleshed dragon fruit, such as that of the Costa Rica pitaya, may result in pseudohematuria, a harmless reddish discoloration of the urine and faeces.

While plants traditionally associated with Chinese New Year festivities such as lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) and kumquat (Citrus japonica) remain highly popular, dragon fruits have apparently seen an upsurge in demand this year, no thanks to it being the Year of the Dragon. Some people even go to the extent of purchasing their own pitaya plants to grow at home. Of course, that the most common dragon fruit varieties are reddish in colour is a factor that contributes to this demand to have dragon fruits or pitaya plants at home.

(Photo by mmmavocado)

(Photo by roba66)

At the very least, one hopes that these pitaya plants don't all end up dying from neglect, which is probably going to be the case with many pet chinchillas or lizards.

Year of the Dragon: The "Dragon Cats"

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000+08:00

(Photo by StefanKoeder)

An unfortunate consequence of having the Chinese zodiac associated with animals is that there are bound to be plenty of superstitious people who get a pet associated with that particular year, only to lose interest soon enough. Despite campaigns to encourage responsible pet ownership, the Year of the Rabbit was not a good one for plenty of pet bunnies, dumped once the novelty wore off. In Singapore, most exotic reptiles are (thankfully?) banned as pets, so we won't get a spike in cases of chameleons, iguanas or bearded dragons being released in our parks. However, there is the likelihood that by the end of the Year of the Dragon, we may see a rise in sales of another animal, and a corresponding spike in cases of abandonment and neglect. One thing's for certain, the chinchilla actually has very little to do with dragons.

The chinchilla is known in Chinese as 龙猫 ('dragon cat'), although I honestly have no idea how it got such a name. After all, it is a rodent, not a felid, and unlike say, the Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), doesn't have a long tradition of being associated with the mythical dragons of east Asian cultures. I guess it was all a smart marketing strategy. Edit: Albertonykus from Raptormaniacs has reminded me that the title character in the Japanese anime My Neighbor Totoro is called the "dragon cat" in Chinese translations. I suppose calling chinchillas "dragon cats" is meant to highlight their resemblance to this cartoon character.

(Image from Electric Sheep)

(Photo by StefanKoeder)

In any case, there are actually 2 species of chinchilla in the wild, the long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera), and the short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla). The chinchillas currently being bred in captivity for the fur and pet trade are commonly considered to consist of long-tailed chinchillas, although there may also be hybrids between the 2 species.

Chinchillas are native to the barren rocky crags of the Andes in South America, from Chile and Argentina to parts of Peru and Bolivia. Here, in the high windswept mountains, between 3,000 and 5,000 metres above sea level, the chinchillas have adapted to survive in this cold and arid place. Living in small colonies of up to 100 individuals, they are both nocturnal and crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), foraging for whatever available vegetation there is, digging burrows and tunnels to hide from predators such as birds of prey, snakes, foxes, and cats.

(Photo by Poloos FLeiss ● ●)

To survive the cold, chinchillas have evolved soft and thick fur to help provide insulation, with an average of 60 hairs sprouting from each hair follicle. This fur also helps provide some degree of protection from predators, as any attempt to snatch a fleeing chinchilla may end with a mouthful of fur and a disappointed hunter. Unfortunately, it is this luxuriant fur that has been the chinchillas' downfall. Hunted for fur by the Incas and other native civilisations in the Andes, it was only in the 18th century that chinchillas began to experience heavy exploitation for western markets. In 1899, 500,000 chinchilla pelts were exported from Chile alone. Chinchillas soon became one of the most valuable in the fur industry, with coats made from wild chinchilla pelts costing US$100,000 each! With increasing rarity as chinchilla populations were decimated, the price of furs rose, and the hunting continued because it was so profitable. To make things worse, because of their small size, many more individual chinchillas are needed to create a garment. For instance, it has been quoted that about 150 chinchilla pelts are required to make a single full-length coat.

Chinchilla pelts;
(Photo by PeterPalms.com)

Chinchilla fur coat;
(Photo by Terry_Gloves2)

Today, wild chinchillas are fully protected, although some poaching for fur continues. Both the long-tailed and short-tailed chinchillas are considered Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, and are now restricted to remote areas in the mountains of Chile, having been extirpated from other former range states like Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Habitat destruction from overgrazing by livestock is another major threat.

Chinchillas still contribute to the fur trade, although most of it these days comes from captive-bred animals. Indeed, it was the establishment of viable populations in captivity to sustain the demand for fur that not only helped prevent further large-scale hunting of wild chinchilla, but also led to chinchillas eventually appearing as subjects for laboratory research, and in the pet trade as well.

(Photo by compozergrl)

While chinchillas are typically silvery-grey, there are now a few different colour varieties, the result of selective breeding. Still, all chinchillas still retain the same size, shape, and fur length, and have not undergone extreme breeding for traits like those seen in other pet rodents, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, or rats.

White and black colour mutations of captive chinchilla;
(Photo by wisely-chosen)

The chinchillas have close relatives, known as mountain viscachas (Lagidium spp.), which look a lot like rabbits with long tails. 4 species live in the Andes, just like the chinchillas, from Peru and Bolivia to Chile and Argentina, and have similar habits.

Northern viscacha (Lagidium peruanum);
(Photo by JeDi58)

Southern viscacha (Lagidium viscacia);
(Photo by codiferous)

One more species, the plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus), lives on the pampas.

(Photo by Sanchez Andreas)

There are many South American rodents with interesting, even endearing names. Thanks to zoos, many people have heard of the semi-aquatic capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and coypu (Myocastor coypu) of the swamps and wetlands, or the hare-like mara (Dolichotis patagonum) of Patagonia, while the degu (Octodon degus) is another South American rodent that is becoming popular as an exotic pet. The agoutis (Dasyprocta spp.), acouchis (Myoprocta spp.), pacas (Cuniculus spp.) and pacarana (Dinomys branickii) are forest denizens, while the tuco-tucos (Ctenomys spp.) are burrowers that inhabit the pampas.

Capybara;
(Photo by lorentey)

Coypu;
(Photo by lacitadelle)

Patagonian mara;
(Photo by Cláudio Timm)

Degu;
(Photo by *stepko*)

Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata);
(Photo by Ignacio Zamora)

Green acouchi (Myoprocta pratti);
(Photo by Sexecutioner)

Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca);
(Photo by Official San Diego Zoo)

Pacarana;
(Photo by Bruce Aleksander & Dennis Milam)

Tiny tuco-tuco (Ctenomys minutus);
(Photo by Kitty & Kal-El)

All these are caviomorph rodents, of which the domestic cavy or guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is the most famous representative. Indeed, while there are some caviomorph rodents that have managed to colonise North America and the islands of the Caribbean, South America is their stronghold.

Guinea pig;
(Photo by Tereza Čechová)

Another family of South American caviomorph rodents, the Abrocomidae, goes by the common name of chinchilla rat. Indeed, the members of this family, which belong to 2 genera (Abrocoma and Cuscomys), look like a mixture of chinchilla and rat.

Bennett's chinchilla rat (Abrocoma bennettii);
(Photo by Podoces)

Chinchillas are definitely very cute, but are high-maintenance, and require more care and attention compared to hamsters or mice. For instance, they have specific dietary requirements, and won't do well on a menu of nothing but hamster food. Staying true to their origins from some of the driest places on the planet, they hate to get wet, but need to take regular baths in sand. And given that their fur traps heat so well, they are certainly at risk of overheating in our tropical weather. Not to mention that they are very active, require lots of space, and like all other rodents, need to gnaw frequently in order to keep their incisors at the right length. And to top it all off, chinchillas are long-lived for rodents, and can be part of a household for 15 years or even more. Owning one and providing adequate care is certainly a heavy long-term responsibility.

(Photo by toydogs)

There is the possibility that with the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, there will be more impulse purchases of pet chinchillas. Even though chinchillas are expensive, it is almost guaranteed that some of these will end up in homes not equipped to provide them with care required.

In the hope of preventing a repeat of the horrific abuse and neglect that many rabbits suffered, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has put out a reminder on responsible pet ownership, and to avoid buying chinchillas just because of some tenuous connection with dragons.

Hopefully, the next year or so will be kind to these oddly-named 'dragon cats'.

Year of the Dragon: Singaporean Dragons

2012-01-24T08:49:00.000+08:00

(Photo by sayhitoant)

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Singapore is home to a number of agamid lizards (F. Agamidae). This post will discuss the several species of agamids that are found here.

All our local agamids are members of the subfamily Draconinae, and are generally arboreal insectivores, meaning they spend most of their time in trees and feed on insects. They are in turn hunted by a number of other predators, including birds and snakes.

(Photo by Chua Shuyi, from Habitatnews)

(Photo by Marcus)

Small to medium-sized lizards, they range in size from 20 to 50 centimetres in total length, although a great deal of that is taken up by the long tail. Unlike other lizard families, the tail is not shed as a defense tactic in most agamids, and amputation of any portion of the tail is permanent.

The most abundant and most commonly encountered agamid in Singapore is the changeable lizard (Calotes versicolor).

(Photo by Jacqueline)

This is the lizard we often find perched on trees and fences in the neighbourhood, clambering about bushes and shrubs in the garden, and even basking along the road. It prefers somewhat open habitats, and has adapted very well to the mixture of urban vegetation, secondary scrub and woodlands so prevalent throughout Singapore.

Distributed across a large area of mainland tropical Asia, from India to the Malay Peninsula, morphological and genetic differences between populations in different geographical areas strongly suggest that the changeable lizard actually consists of a complex of several closely-related species.

(Photo by Ria)

Some people mistakenly call this and other agamid lizards 'chameleons', due to their ability to change colour. This is an error, as the true chameleons (F. Chameleonidae) are an entirely different family of lizards (albeit one that's closely related to the agamids), and are not found in Southeast Asia.

Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus);
(Photo by Vishal Pd)

Like the chameleons, the changeable lizard can change its colour either to express its mood, or to improve its camouflage and blend in with its surroundings.

(Photo by y_leong23)

(Photos by NatureInYourBackyard)

During the breeding season, the head and neck of the adult male turns a bright orange or red, and he can often be seen in conspicuous locations, such as on tree branches or bollards, doing push-ups to display his strength and vitality to attract females as well as warn rival males.

The bright red coloration of the head in male changeable lizards has led to them earning the nickname of 'bloodsucker'.

Male in breeding coloration, Pakistan;
(Photo by zhatash)

The changeable lizard is actually not a native species; it was not recorded here before the 1980s, and the southern limit of its range was the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia, such as Perlis and Kedah. It began appearing here only in the 1980s, possibly through stowaways on vehicles and trains arriving from Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia. Eventually, enough individuals must have arrived to facilitate the establishment of locally breeding populations. Since then, it has colonised virtually all of mainland Singapore, from urban parks to secondary scrub, as well as many of our offshore islands such as Pulau Ubin, Pulau Tekong, Sentosa, and Pulau Semakau. The changeable lizard has also managed to make its way back across the causeway and establish itself in the southern states of Peninsular Malaysia, where it was formerly absent.

(Photo by y_leong23)

The changeable lizard's addition to our local herpetofauna here is likely to have had a significant impact on one of our native agamids, the green crested lizard (Bronchocoela cristatella).

(Photo by Lip Kee)

Formerly the most common lizard found in parks, gardens, and forests, this species appears to have declined at around the same period of time the changeable lizard began to spread around Singapore. It is likely that there is some form of competition over resources between the native green crested lizard and the non-native changeable lizard, a struggle that the changeable lizard appears to have won quite decisively.

(Photo by kokhuitan)

Today, the green crested lizard can still be encountered in gardens, parks, and secondary scrub all over Singapore, though it is much less common compared to the changeable lizard. The green-crested lizard's stronghold is in the primary and mature secondary rainforests, which its introduced relative avoids for some reason.

(Photo by Lip Kee)

(Photo by Tiomanese)

(Photos by hiker1974)

The green coloration clearly helps to provide camouflage.

(Photo by Marcus)

However, when it feels threatened, the green crested lizard often turns dark brown.

There is still some overlap between the 2 species, and this is an interesting topic for future study. Is the green crested lizard, with its forest stronghold, adapting to the new ecological landscape and holding its own against the foreign invader? Or is it still in retreat, with the green crested lizards in our more urban parks and gardens representing remnants of populations doomed to eventually disappear?

(Photo by hiker1974)

A third species of agamid, the earless agamid (Aphaniotis fusca), is restricted to the forests of the Central Nature Reserves.

(Photo by Marcus)

(Photo by kwokwai76)

(Photos by Jacqueline)

As its name suggests, unlike other agamid lizards, which have a prominent tympanum (eardrum), this species has ears that are not so readily obvious.

2 additional species of agamids have supposedly been recorded in Singapore, although their presence here is considered doubtful.

Bell's anglehead (Gonocephalus bellii), Pahang;
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Horned tree lizard (Acanthosaura armata); Penang;
(Photo by Manticor@)

The horned tree lizard and Bell's anglehead are found in forests in Peninsular Malaysia, and have not been seen here in recent years. The old records were most probably based on mistakes in location or misidentification, though there is the remote possibility that these species were indeed once present here, but have since vanished due to the extensive deforestation that has seen the loss of more than approximately 95% of our original tropical forest cover.

The remaining 3 agamid species known to occur in Singapore are all flying dragons (Draco spp.), also called gliding lizards.

(Photo by Jacqueline)

The common flying dragon (Draco sumatranus) prefers open woodlands and forest edge, and has adapted to live in habitats subject to human disturbance, such as plantations and urban parks. It is widespread and common throughout Singapore, including several offshore islands.

(Photo by kwokwai76)

Left: Black-bearded flying dragon (Draco melanopogon);
(Photo by hisno)
Right: Five-banded flying dragon (Draco quinquefasciatus);
(Photo by kwokwai76)

On the other hand, the black-bearded flying dragon and five-banded flying dragon prefer mature forests, and are known only from the Central Nature Reserves. The five-banded flying dragon was first recorded here in Singapore only in 2001, a testament to the fact that despite their small size, our forests still conceal plenty of surprises.

Black-bearded flying dragon;
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Fringed flying dragon (Draco fimbriatus), Taman Negara;

Spotted flying dragon (Draco maculatus), Langkawi;
(Photos by Ulrich Manthey)

The local status of 2 additional species, the spotted flying dragon (Draco maculatus) and fringed flying dragon (Draco fimbriatus), is currently undetermined. Like the horned tree lizard and Bell's anglehead, there is always the possibility that the alleged presence of these species is the result of misidentifications or simply errors in record-keeping.

I wrote more about flying dragons in a recent post.

Compared to the forests of neighbouring countries, we seem to have relatively few agamid species. Perhaps it's simply the fact that small islands tend to have a lower capacity to support a multitude of different species. The extensive deforestation that occurred here is probably another factor; who knows what other agamid species may have vanished from our island, unnoticed? Still, our forests still hold many surprises, and the recent discovery of the five-banded flying dragon attests to that.

Some of our agamids are quite successful, and have adapted to living in the disturbed habitats that characterise our public parks, gardens, and other urban green spaces. The changeable lizard is probably one of the most common lizards in Singapore, while the green crested lizard and common flying dragon are also widespread and can be found in areas with plenty of tree cover.

Our agamids may not be as majestic as say, the monitor lizards, but with their bizarre headgear and even aerial capabilities, they are truly impressive miniature dragons.

Year of the Dragon: Amazing Agamids

2012-01-23T00:15:00.000+08:00

(Photo by ~zymon~)

According to the Chinese zodiac, it's now the Year of the Dragon, and I thought I'd do a special post on some of their real-life counterparts. No, dragons don't really exist, but there are a number of lizard species commonly known as 'dragons'.

(Photo by mlp55)

The most famous 'dragon' is of course, the largest extant lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). With its fearsome, prehistoric appearance, one can easily imagine how early sightings of large monitor lizards may have led to stories about ferocious gigantic reptiles.

Besides the monitor lizards, however, there is a family of lizards which contains some very bizarre-looking members, known collectively as the agamids (F. Agamidae). Often adorned with frills and crests, some agamids look so strange that they would probably not appear out of place in a medieval bestiary.

The agamas are lizards found in various habitats throughout Africa, southern Europe, most of Asia, and all the way to Australia. There is a wide range of shapes and sizes, from small arboreal insectivores of the rainforests, to large burrowing vegetarians in the desert.

A number of species are found in Singapore, but this post will focus on a selection of some notable species from elsewhere:

The common agama (Agama agama) is typically found in rocky areas in much of sub-Saharan Africa. The bright blue and red colours displayed by males during the breeding season have earned this the nickname of 'Spiderman lizard';
(Photo by mayor_of_clutch0625)

The dwarf shield-tailed agama (Xenagama taylori) inhabits arid regions of Ethiopia and Somalia. Digging tunnels to hide in, this lizard uses its stumpy yet spiky tail to block the entrance to the burrow, deterring potential predators;
(Photo by henk.wallays)

The Egyptian mastigure (Uromastyx aegyptia), also known as the Egyptian dabb or Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard, is primarily herbivorous, and lives in the deserts of Egypt, Libya, and the Middle East;
(Photo by CULTNAT)

The Sinai blue agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus), another desert-dweller from Ethiopia and Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula, must be one of the most striking lizards of all, with males turning a bright blue during the breeding season;
(Photo by copepodo)

The secret toad-head agama (Phrynocephalus mystaceus), found in the deserts and semi-arid regions of Iran, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan has a strange way of defending itself. When threatened, it opens its mouth and bares its teeth, common lizard behaviour, except for the bright reddish skin flaps in the corners of its mouth that flare open as well. This serves to make it look more intimidating;
(Photo by Ahmad Karimi)

Such threat displays are taken to the extreme by another agamid, the frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingi) of the tropical savannah woodlands of Australia and southern New Guinea. The frill is ordinarily flattened and hangs loosely around the neck, but when threatened, this lizard, by opening its frill, hissing loudly, and even lunging, puts up an impressive show. Should the predator remain undaunted, the frilled lizard can make a swift getaway, running away on its hind legs;
(Photo by AusBatPerson)

The bearded dragons, represented here by the eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata), are also found in Australia, and live in rocky semi-deserts and open woodlands. The spiny scales on the throat, and all over much of the body, can be erected when the lizard feels threatened, making it a prickly mouthful for any predator. Bearded dragons are highly popular as pets, and a number of interesting colour varieties have been selectively bred;
(Photo by maasha)

Captive-bred colour morph of central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps);
(Photo by jLablitz)

As an amusing aside, a video clip of a pet bearded dragon playing a game called Ant Smasher on its owner's smartphone recently became an online viral hit.

Australia has plenty of weird lizards, but the thorny devil (Moloch horridus) is surely one of the weirdest. The spines that cover this lizard not only provide defence against predators, and probably against the ants that it feeds on, but also enable it to drink while living in one of the driest habitats on the planet. As dew condenses on the spines at night, the water flows down into tiny grooves in the skin that eventually lead towards the mouth;
(Photo by pojic)

At the other extreme, there are agamids found living in wet, swampy habitats.

The Philippine sailfin dragon (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) is among the largest of the agamids, with large males reaching up to 1.2 metres in length. Omnivores that feed on insects as well as vegetable matter like fruits and leaves, the sailfin dragons can be thought of as the Southeast Asian equivalent of the green iguana (Iguana iguana), living in swamps and along rivers, seeking safety from predators by plunging or dashing into the water;
(Photo by woosang)

(Photo by brewbooks)

A similar lifestyle is seen in the somewhat smaller water dragons, of which there are 2 species, the Australian water dragon (Physignathus lesueurii) of eastern Australia (above), and the Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) of southern China and Indochina (below);

(Photo by ♫ Claire ♫)

The forests and woodlands of tropical Asia are home to a wide variety of agamids, some of which also possess strange anatomical features.

In the forests of Sri Lanka lives the hump-nosed lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus);
(Photo by Madhawa)

The rhinoceros-horned lizard (Ceratophora stoddartii) is also endemic to forests in Sri Lanka, and males have this strange horn on their noses, which is actually an outgrowth of the scale at the tip of the nose. Males in other members of the genus have nasal growths that look more like leaves or pine cones;
(Photo by cheranga.d)

Tennent's leaf-nosed lizard (Ceratophora tennentii);
(Photo by Ruchira Somaweera, from ARKive)

Rough nose-horned lizard (Ceratophora aspera);
(Photo by Dr. Peter Janzen, from CalPhotos)

The Sumatran nose-horned lizard (Harpesaurus beccarii) not only has a pair of horns on the tip of its snout, but also has large triangular scales running down its back. Another species, the Bornean nose-horned lizard (Harpesaurus borneensis), is unique in being one of the few agamid species known to give birth to its young instead of laying eggs, though the reproductive habits of many agamids are currently unknown;
(Photo by Ulrich Manthey, from The Reptile Database)

Much of the strange ornamentation found in agamids exists not to fend off predators, but plays a critical role in sexual selection. In the hump-nosed lizard, rhinoceros-horned lizard, and Sumatran nose-horned lizard, the nasal growths are more pronounced in adult males. Similarly, in the fan-throated lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) from Sri Lanka and India, it is the males that develop a prominent and brightly-coloured dewlap, which is used to attract females and intimidate rival males;
(Photo by Harsha Matarage)

The brown-patched kangaroo lizard (Otocryptis wiegmanni), another Sri Lankan endemic, possesses a similar feature;
(Photo by Akila De Silva)

The drive to attract a mate is so strong that it seems that many agamids, such as this male Blanford's rock agama (Psammophilus blanfordanus) from southern India, make sure that they're visible to all, regardless of the risk of being spotted by predators;
(Photo by Ishan K)

The males of the blue crested lizard (Calotes mystaceus) of Indochina are similarly brightly coloured;
(Photo by Mark Bakkers)

The horned tree lizard (Acanthosaura armata) of southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra, also possesses horns, though these grow from above the eyes;
(Photo by hisno)

Another agamid from forests in surrounding countries, the great anglehead (Gonocephalus grandis) of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, has a large comb-like crest of spines;
(Photo by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com))

Its close relative, the Bell's anglehead (Gonocephalus belli), of the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, may lack the pronounced crests, but it still has the impressive spines and the brightly-coloured dewlap;
(Photo by Manticor@)

The common butterfly lizard (Leiolepis belliana) is a member of a small group of agamids found in open habitats in Southeast Asia. What's interesting is that out of 8 known species of butterfly lizards, 4 are parthenogenetic, meaning that all individuals in these species are female, with all offspring being clones of their mother. They are hunted as food in some regions - the most recently described species was first discovered in a Vietnamese restaurant;
(Photo by Cat Smith)

The forests of southwest India and Southeast Asia, all the way to the islands of the Malukus, the Philippines, and Timor, are home to a widespread and successful group of agamids. The flying dragons, represented here by the Javan flying dragon (Draco volans), are perhaps among the most unique of the agamids, for they alone have managed to take to the air. I've already written more about flying dragons in a recent post.

Great gliding lizard (Draco maximus);
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Many agamids are capable of changing colour, depending on their surroundings and their mood, and are sometimes called chameleons, although this is inaccurate and misleading. Chameleons (F. Chamaeleonidae) are a closely related but nonetheless entirely separate family of lizards, and the only chameleons found in Asia live in parts of the Middle East, India, and Sri Lanka, while their stronghold is in Africa and Madagascar. Interestingly enough, a number of toad-head agamas use their tongues to feed in a manner that is very similar to that seen in chameleons, which raises a lot of questions as to how widespread the supposedly unique chameleon tongue might actually be among the agamids.

Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus);
(Photo by lalie sorbet)

The agamids and chameleons are closely related, and together with the iguanas (F. Iguanidae) and related families, make up a group known as the Iguania. The distribution of the agamids almost mirrors that of the iguanas, which replace the agamids in equivalent habitats in the Americas, and also come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Green iguana;
(Photo by nachocorreanet)

Many of the iguana species living in tropical Central and South America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean, are similar to the agamids, in that they carry bizarre headgear or are brightly coloured.

Black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis);
(Photo by bayucca)

Galapagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus);
(Photo by geoff-e)

Rhinoceros iguana (Cyclurus cornuta);
(Photo by Dries Arnolds)

Plumed basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons);
(Photo by slider5)

Helmeted iguana (Corytophanes cristatus);
(Photo by Hernan Arias)

Brown anole (Anolis sagrei);
(Photo by antiundersteer)

Black lava lizard (Tropidurus melanopleurus);
(Photo by Arthur Chapman)

Emerald swift (Sceloporus schmidti);
(Photo by asnyder5)

Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum);
(Photo by Sam Murray)

It's impossible to look at the horned lizards of the deserts and grasslands of North America and not be reminded of the thorny devil. Though they are only distantly related, the similarities between the thorny devil and horned lizards could be seen as an example of convergent evolution.

Strangely enough, in a quirk of biogeography, despite the close proximity of the islands of Fiji and Tonga to Australia and New Guinea, these islands are the domain of iguanas, not agamids.

Fiji banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus);
(Photo by Leszek.Leszczynski)

Similarly, although Madagascar is off the coast of Africa, it is an endemic family of iguanas (F. Opluridae) that inhabits this island, instead of agamids.

Madagascar collared iguana (Oplurus cuvieri);
(Photo by Diana B.)

I'm tempted to look at the diversity of iguanas as well, but that will have to come another time. Next up, a look at the agamid lizards found in Singapore.

Flight of Dragons

2012-01-19T22:26:00.000+08:00

(Photo by Javier_M.)

Over the last couple of years, I've seen a particular image make its way around the Internet, popping up every now and then creating somewhat of a stir every time it resurfaces.

It all began when someone by the nickname of Biophilia_curiosus submitted this photo (depicted above) to Reddit. Apparently, the reptile pictured was caught on the island of Buton, just off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi in Indonesia, where the submitter was involved in a herpetology study as part of Operation Wallacea. After several photos were taken, the lizard, which was a female that had descended from the trees to lay her eggs, was released.

This photograph was subsequently picked up by sites such as Neatorama, Treehugger, and the science blog Science Punk. I've seen this same photo shared on Twitter, with friends, knowing my interest in wildlife, pointing it out to me as well.

A lot of the reaction from the Internet has been that of amazement, with the inevitable comparisons with the dragon-like flying creatures in Avatar, or the gold-hoarding, princess-snatching, fire-breathing dragons of western mythology and fantasy. While it is a fascinating discovery, I'm not exactly very surprised, since this is after all, 'merely' a flying dragon (Draco spp.), and these small arboreal lizards of southern India and Southeast Asia have been known to the western world as far back as at least the mid-18th century.

Here are some images and descriptions from the 19th century. These gliding lizards most probably weren't that unfamiliar to the European naturalists and explorers who visited the forests of Southeast Asia.

FLYING DRAGONS OF MALAYSIA, Draco volans and fimbriatus. (From specimens brought home by M. Maurice Maindrou.)
(Image from Popular Science Monthly/Volume 36/April 1890/Dragons, Fabled and Real)

The only dragons with which science now concerns itself are the little saurians, which are classed by some naturalists with the acrodont iguanans and by others with the agamians, and of some of which we give representations.

There live in the forests of India, the Malay Archipelago, and the Philippine Islands, lizards, whose speckled dress and odd forms have long made them objects of interest to collectors. They live exclusively on insects, which they hunt with extreme agility of pursuit along the trunks and among the branches of trees. In whatever spot they may be hiding, their variegated liveries of gray and brown, speckled with black, yellow, or green, mask them effectively and cause them to pass unperceived in the cracks or among the inequalities of the bark. Squatting under this cover, they await the coming of some insect within reach of them ; or they may be seen running rapidly and suddenly covering considerable space, by a kind of flight, to place themselves upon another tree or fix themselves near a vine. Nature has been, in fact, pleased to facilitate the movements of these lively and graceful beings by an ingenious artifice. By the aid of their parachute, dragons can execute leaps in the air of considerable length, and pass from one tree to another as if by flying. But it must not be supposed that they can fly after the manner of birds. They can descend rapidly, describing a large parabola, sometimes almost a horizontal, but can not fly upward.

I have frequently observed these pretty little saurians in Java. The first time I saw one I succeeded in shooting him with a small- bored gun loaded with fine shot. When I picked my victim up I was somewhat surprised to find that I had a dragon ; for its jerky and irregular flight along a large tree had caused me to suppose that it was some kind of a grasshopper or moth, which I could not get in any other way than by shooting.

The dragons, as Cuvier says, fly by means of their ribs. Their first six pairs of false ribs, instead of being attached to the sternum, are drawn out and prolonged, so as to constitute the framework of a kind of umbrella, the covering of which is formed of a wide membrane making a fold in the skin of the flanks. This membrane is independent of the limbs. When at rest, it is folded up along each flank ; but it can be quickly un- folded and spread out in case of need. The name patagium has been given to it. The head and neck are ornamented with crests and dewlaps, often variegated with brilliantly defined colors ; and a long tail gives them a singular gait which is not without grace.

The harmless little flying lizards inhabit forests and garden trees ; and nothing is more amusing than to watch their manoeuvres, when, not aware that they are observed, they execute their gambols in the full flush of freedom. Running swiftly along the trees, stopping instantaneously, snapping up an insect or retiring disappointed after they have missed it; pursuing one another; inflating their dewlaps and depressing their crests when enraged, they fly away spasmodically to drop a few yards farther along, down upon another tree, along which they continue their evolutions. In some dragons the tympanum is visible, in others it is hidden by a fold of the skin. A special genus (Dranuncidus) has been constituted for the latter, while the former compose the genus Draco. This genus is represented by six species, of which three inhabit the island of Java ; one, recognizable by its vertical nostrils, is peculiar to continental India ; the fifth is native to the island of Timor ; and the sixth is found at Pulu Penang. The Dranunculus inhabits Amboyna in the Moluccas, Celebes, and the Philippine Islands.

THE KUBIN, Draco volans.
Sinensis delt. A. Cardon sc.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.
(Image from The history of Sumatra, containing an account of the government, laws, customs, and manners of the native inhabitants with a description of the natural products and a relation of the ancient political state of that island)

The flying lizard, kubin, or chachak terbang (Draco volans), is about eight inches in its extreme length, and the membranes which constitute the wings are about two or three inches in extent. These do not connect with the fore and hind legs, as in the bat tribe, but are supported by an elongation of the alternate ribs, as pointed out by my friend Mr. Everard Home. They have flapped ears, and a singular kind of pouch or alphorges, under the jaws. In other respects they much resemble the chameleon in appearance. They do not take distant flights, but merely from tree to tree, or from one bough to another. The natives take them by springs fastened to the stems.

(from Dictionnaire encyclopédique Trousset)

Discovery News also had an article about the flying dragon photo shared by Biophilia_curiosus (who actually goes by the name of Javier Marin), one that focused more on the facts, rather than go on yet again about fabled mythical fire-breathing monsters. According to Jimmy A. McGuire, curator of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and associate professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, the lizard pictured could be a Beccari's flying dragon (Draco beccarii), a species native to eastern Sulawesi. However, without seeing the dewlap, which varies from species to species and is used as an identification feature. McGuire claimed that he couldn't be certain.

Javier Marin took more photos of this same lizard, but it was the one at the top, with the 'wings' spread open, that has proven to be the most widely circulated.

(Photos by Javier Marin)

The flying dragons consist of 41 species in the genus Draco, though that number is likely to go up as more new species are discovered and described. The genus is found in forests from India to southern China and Indochina, south through the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi, all the way to the islands of the Philippines, the Malukus, and Timor. Some species have a wide distribution across this range, while others are restricted to a few scattered islands. They are small lizards, ranging from 20 to 40 centimetres in total length.

Belonging to the family Agamidae, the flying dragons are commonly classified under the subfamily Draconinae, which are all small to medium-sized arboreal lizards found in the forests and woodlands of tropical Asia. The green-crested lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) and changeable lizard (Calotes versicolor), both of which are commonly encountered in Singapore, are also draconine lizards.

Changeable lizard;
(Photo by Jacqueline)

Where it comes to identification, a lot of confusion arises from the fact that only 1 species, the Javan flying dragon (Draco volans), is ever mentioned when the topic of flying dragons is brought up, whether it's in the technical literature, popular books, websites, or television documentaries. And so, you will also find a multitude of images of flying dragons from several different species, all wrongly identified as Draco volans.

Javan flying dragon;
(Photo by Rucha Chitnis)

Some of this mess originates from older classification schemes, in which many species of flying dragon were formerly subsumed under Draco volans, and were only recently identified as separate species. Hence, you would think that this species is found across much of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In fact, the 'true' Draco volans is native to Java and Bali.

The 'wings' of flying dragons are actually made out of elongated and flexible ribs, with flaps of skin stretched between the bony struts.

Drawing of flying dragon skeleton;
(Image from On The Genesis of Species, 1871)

By expanding this membrane (more properly called a patagium), a flying dragon is able to slow its descent, and glide from one tree to another. While airborne, the lizard is able to steer its flight path such that it makes the perfect landing on a tree trunk. This ability enables these gliders to avoid having to risk facing danger on the ground when trying to move between trees, a problem experienced by their non-gliding relatives. Flying dragons may glide from tree to tree for various reasons: in search of food or mates, to chase away rival males from their territories, or to make a quick escape from arboreal predators. Females are at their most vulnerable when they descend to the ground to lay and bury their eggs, otherwise flying dragons spend virtually all their lives in the trees.

Two-spot flying dragon (Draco bimaculatus);
(Photo by smallislander)

The lizard pictured above probably wasn't actually gliding, but merely held such that its limbs and patagia were outstretched in a gliding position. Because they don't actually fly, flying dragons are also perhaps more accurately known as gliding lizards, a term which admittedly doesn't sound as romantic as 'flying dragon'.

The patagia are usually brightly-coloured, and like the dewlap, often serve to tell the different species apart.

Great flying dragon (Draco maximus);
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Philippine flying dragon (Draco spilopterus);
(Photo by Paul Bourdin)

Dusky flying dragon (Draco obscurus);
(Photo by shobster)

Most of the time however, flying dragons are usually seen resting on tree trunks, with the patagia nicely folded away. Many species are extremely well-camouflaged against the tree bark.

Javan flying dragon;
(Photo by georg.erber)

Southern flying dragon (Draco dussumieri);
(Photo by yathin)

Horned flying dragon (Draco cornutus);
(Photo by junis_sp)

Blandford's flying dragon (Draco blandfordii);
(Photo by António A Gonçalves)

Great flying dragon;
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Despite their excellent camouflage, the lizards often inadvertently give away their location when they flick their brightly-coloured gular flaps, which is present in both sexes, and used in display. All flying dragons also possess small throat lappets, which are supported by cartilage and might serve to generate additional lift, and enhance balance and stability.

Southern flying dragon;
(Photo by The World Through My Eye)

Horned flying dragon;
(Photo by sinooorita)

Unidentified flying dragon, possibly spotted flying dragon (Draco maculatus);
(Photo by António A Gonçalves)

Flying dragons have been recorded feeding mostly on ants, termites and other small insects, and are in turn preyed upon by many carnivores, such as birds and snakes.

Tiger shrike (Lanius tigrinus);
(Photo by Francis Yap)

White-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis);
(Photo by shirl6900)

Keel-bellied whip snake (Dryophiops rubescens);
(Photo by Marcus)

Singapore is home to several species of flying dragon.

Common flying dragon (Draco sumatranus);
(Photo by dansengohsp)

The most widespread of all is the common flying dragon, a species that prefers the somewhat more open habitat found at the forest edge. As a result, it has adapted well to human activity, and can be found in many of our urban parks and gardens.

(Photo by kwokwai76)

For some of my friends and I, a trip to Chek Jawa usually includes a brief look at the tall rubber trees at Punai Hut, hoping to spot these small lizards high up on the tree trunks, basking in the afternoon sun and displaying to one another.

(Photo by Marcus)

(Photo by Chee Kong)

Black-bearded flying dragon (Draco melanopogon);
(Photo by Lil Snoop)

The black-bearded flying dragon prefers mature forest, and is hence restricted to the secondary and primary rainforest found in the Central Nature Reserves.

(Photo by hisno)

(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Five-banded gliding lizard (Draco quinquefasciatus);
(Photo by macro snake)

Similarly, the five-banded flying dragon is found in the same forest habitats as the black-bearded flying dragon. This species was first recorded in Singapore only in 2001. Indeed, even though our forest patches are small, they contain many surprises waiting to be discovered.

(Photo by kwokwai76)

Orange-bearded flying dragon (Draco abbreviatus), currently often confused with the fringed flying dragon (Draco fimbriatus);

Spotted flying dragon;
(Photos by Nick Baker, from Ecology Asia)

Some older references mention the presence of 2 more species of flying dragon in Singapore, the fringed flying dragon and the spotted flying dragon, although it is doubtful that they occur here.

As an aside, it seems that there is a great deal of confusion about the taxonomy of the fringed flying dragon. It seems that the orange-bearded flying dragon was once considered to belong to the same species, but there are hints from some sources suggesting that it's actually a separate species altogether.

Flying dragons are skittish animals, usually well-camouflaged, live high up in the trees, and easily elude capture. Many species also look quite similar, and are often conclusively identified only with close observation of the patagium and dewlap, which either requires excellent optics, or the luck to examine one up close.

Common flying dragon;
(Photo by Helen)

Black-bearded flying dragon;
(Photo by Steven Wong (ATKR))

Great flying dragon;
(Photo by FBMagpie)

What's interesting about flying dragons is how several different species can live together in the same area, through what is known as niche partitioning. For instance, at least 10 different species of flying dragon are found in Peninsular Malaysia, and some of these species have overlapping ranges.

Common flying dragon;
(Photo by hisno)

This has a lot to do with the different gliding capabilities of each species, which is linked to size. To use an example, the small and lightweight black-bearded flying dragon has large patagia in relation to its body size, and is able to gain lift and glide at relatively low speeds. In contrast, the larger and heavier fringed flying dragon has proportionately smaller patagia, and needs to reach a higher velocity before attaining gliding speed. When jumping off trees, these larger lizards don't immediately start gliding, but instead go into a dive, with the patagia opening up only when the desired speed is achieved. As a result, the fringed flying dragon may have a preference for the crowns and upper branches of very tall trees, where it can safely carry out such dives and complete its glides, whereas the smaller black-bearded flying dragon, which is less constrained, may be found living on lower portions of the same trees. In this manner, 2 species of flying dragon are able to coexist without competing excessively over turf.

Fringed flying dragon;
(Photo by mamuin)

Black-bearded flying dragon;
(Photo by gingerbreadtot)

Differences are also seen in the specific type of habitat inhabited by the various species of flying dragon, with some preferring the more open woodlands and forest edges, while others live in dense patches of forest. A preference for highland or lowland areas also helps to minimise competition for resources.

Spotted flying dragon;
(Reconstruction by johnaalex)

While the flying dragons are anatomically unique among the agamid lizards (and in fact, among extant vertebrates for that matter), gliding behaviour similar to that exhibited by flying dragons can be seen in other arboreal agamids not thought of as gliders. For instance, in the green-crested lizard, individuals have been recorded attempting to elude capture by leaping off branches, with the head, body, and tail held straight, all four limbs outstretched, and the ribs expanded and torso flattened. This allows the lizard to decrease the angle of its descent and glide for a short distance, presumably reducing the impact of the fall while escaping the threat. It is this behaviour, present in many smaller arboreal lizards, that has been taken to extremes by the flying dragons.

Green-crested lizard;
(Photo by lenkline)

As I mentioned previously in a post about gliding snakes (Chrysopelea spp.), it is fascinating that the forests of Southeast Asia are inhabited by a wide variety of animals with adaptations for gliding; besides flying dragons and gliding snakes, we also have tree frogs (Rhacophorus spp.) with extensive webbing between their toes that enable them to glide, geckos (Ptychozoon spp.) with webbed feet and flaps of skin along their bodies, as well as colugos (F. Cynocephalidae) and various flying squirrels (F. Sciuridae), which have membranes that stretch between the front and hind limbs. The flying dragons are the only extant group of tetrapods to have ribs modified into a wing-like structure for gliding. However, as unique as this adaptation may seem, the flying dragons are in fact not the only reptiles in Earth's history to take to the air in this manner.

(Photo by Zhao Chuang and Xing Lida, from New Scientist)

A prehistoric gliding lizard known as Xianglong zhaoi was described in 2007, based on a fossil excavated from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning in China. Although it is believed that the extant flying dragons are not directly descended from Xianglong, this ancient species is believed to be a member of the Iguania, a group of lizards that also includes the agamids. The only specimen known for this species so far was just 15.5 centimetres long, although it was apparently a juvenile, and would have grown larger.

Photo and drawing of Xianglong zhaoi fossil;
(Image from Li et al., 2007)

Kuehneosaurus latus;
(Reconstruction by Jim Robins)

This illustration is labelled as Kuehneosaurus, but the wing proportions are closer to that of Kuehneosuchus;
(Reconstruction by Steve Kirk, from Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals)

Other reptiles with similar adaptations for gliding have been recorded in the Late Triassic. Kuehneosaurus latus and Kuehneosuchus latissimus from England, and Icarosaurus siefkeri from New Jersey, were members of the Kuehneosauridae, a family that was somewhat more distantly related to true lizards like Draco and Xianglong. The kuehneosaurids are currently considered to belong to the Lepidosauromorpha, the group of reptiles that encompasses the squamates (lizards and snakes) and sphenodontians (tuatara).

While Icarosaurus was similar in size to modern day flying dragons (the small outline at the bottom represents a black-bearded flying dragon), Kuehneosuchus (left) and Kuehneosaurus (right) were much larger creatures, with body lengths of up to 70 centimeters;
(Drawing from Stein et al., 2008)

Skeleton of Kuehneosuchus latissimus;
(Drawing from Stein et al., 2008)

Despite its size, studies suggest that the large patagia of Kuehneosuchus would have made it a capable glider, whereas Kuehneosaurus, with its smaller patagia, may have done more parachuting than actual gliding. The same study noted that the 2 forms are so similar that they may merely represent different sexes of the same species; in this case, the evolution of the patagia may have also been influenced by sexual selection.

(Reconstruction by Julius Csotonyi)

Skeleton of Icarosaurus siefkeri;
(Drawing from Fraser et al., 2007)

Icarosaurus siefkeri fossil;
(Photo by John Merck, from Images of Nature)

(Reconstruction by Karen Carr, from Newswise)

Mecistotrachelos apeoros is another Late Triassic glider from Virginia that was described only in 2007, although it is unique in that it possesses such a long neck. Comparable in size to the extant flying dragon, with a body length of approximately 25 centimetres, its affinities are still unclear, but it's not so closely related to the lepidosauromorphs. Instead, this reptile could be affiliated with the Archosauromorpha, a group that includes the highly successful archosaurs (which are represented today by the crocodiles and birds).

CT scans and drawings of Mecistotrachelos apeoros fossils;
(Image from Fraser et al., 2007)

Reconstructions of Coelurosauravus jaekeli (above) and Rautiania alexandri (below);
(Drawings by NobuTamura)

An even more ancient group of gliding reptiles lived in the Late Permian, before the dinosaurs had evolved; Coelurosauravus jaekeli from Germany and England, Coelurosauravus elivensis from Madagascar, and Rautiania alexandri and Rautiania minichi from Russia were somewhat larger than the extant flying dragons, with an average length of 40 centimetres. They don't seem to belong to either one of the two major groups of reptiles, but are probably primitive diapsids, basal to the split between lepidosauromorphs and archosauromorphs. Presently, Coelurosauravus and Rautiania are known as the first tetrapods to ever take to the air. The bony rods supporting the 'wings' in these species are not elongated ribs, but rather, grow from the skin, creating a unique gliding apparatus unknown in any other tetrapod.

Skeleton of Coelurosauravus jaekeli;
(Drawing from Schaumberg et al., 2007)

Coelurosauravus jaekeli fossil;
(Photo from Geofinder)

Coelurosauravus jaekeli fossil;
(Photo from Frey et al., 1997)

Here's my attempt to present the relationships between these various gliding reptiles. Note that this simple diagram omits the vast diversity of other reptiles, both past and present.

In a recent study that looked at gliding in flying dragons, with extrapolations to similar prehistoric gliding reptiles, it was determined that Icarosaurus may have been the best glider of all, even better than the flying dragons, whereas the larger Kuehneosaurus and Coelusauravus were probably less effective at gliding. It would be interesting for future studies to include Xianglong and Mecistotrachelos as well.

(Figure and caption from McGuire & Dudley, 2011)

We focus a lot on the 3 groups of vertebrates that have managed to achieve true flight (namely the pterosaurs, birds, and bats), but the biology of animals that glide is just as extraordinarily fascinating, and can have very useful applications in the development of technology that enables us to glide, whether it's with the use of aircraft, hang gliders, or special outfits.

According to the Chinese zodiac, this coming Lunar New Year will be the Year of the Dragon. While giant fire-breathing reptiles soaring through the sky are unfortunately very much the stuff of fantasy and imagination, it's no surprise that a small lizard with "wings" and aerial capabilities has managed to awe us, and is fittingly immortalised with the name Draco.

Snake spotted in country club

2012-01-18T18:00:00.000+08:00

STOMPer redfroggey found a snake at a country club in in the north of Singapore.

Said the STOMPer:

"Snake found at a country club somewhere in the north side of Singapore.

"Appears harmless but NOT!"

Oh come on, there's no need to stand so far away. It's just a paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi). And yes, it appears to be harmless, and is indeed quite harmless to us. Even if you have the bad luck to get bitten, the venom of the paradise tree snake is not known to have any severe long-term medical effects on humans.

(Photo by kampang)

I wrote more about paradise tree snakes and their gliding ability in an earlier post. I also hope the snake featured in this post managed to escape a grisly fate, one that befalls far too many snakes in Singapore for completely unnecessary reasons. To any snake that has the misfortune to cross paths with a paranoid and ignorant human being, these large bipeds appear to be highly dangerous, and most definitely have the potential to turn the encounter into a deadly one for the reptiles.

(Photo by Marcus)

Resident surprised to find snake on staircase at Woodlands block

2012-01-14T18:00:00.001+08:00

STOMPer Omg was surprised to find a small snake at an HDB staircase in Woodlands and wondered how it got there.

Said the STOMPer:

"This dying snake was found at Woodlands HDB staircase.

"How did this get here?!

There's nothing really surprising about finding snakes, even in urban neighbourhoods. After all, many species, such as the common wolf snake (Lycodon capucinus), reticulated python (Broghammerus reticulatus) and equatorial spitting cobra (Naja sumatrana) are highly adaptable and capable of living amongst people. If the housing estate is situated close to a park or an area of forest, there's an even higher likelihood of encountering even more snake species.

The snake depicted in the photo appears to be a striped kukri snake (Oligodon octolineatus), a species said to be fairly common, not just in forests and scrubland, but also in gardens.

(Photo by Anne Devan-Song)

This is quite a small snake, with the longest individuals recorded at a mere 68 centimetres.

Besides the striped kukri snake, there are 2 other species of kukri snake found in Singapore, though these are rarer and restricted to the forests of the Central Nature Reserves.

The brown kukri snake (Oligodon purpurascens)comes in 2 distinct colour forms, one that is brown, as pictured above, and another morph that is a striking red. It's somewhat larger than the striped kukri snake, growing up to 98 centimetres;
(Photo by Manticor@)

(Photo by Johan van Rooijen, from Amphibians & Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia)

The barred kukri snake (Oligodon signatus) is the rarest of the 3 species, both in Singapore and in Peninsular Malaysia;
(Photo by Nature Malaysia)

The kukri snakes are widespread across much of Asia, and get their name from their enlarged teeth, which are apparently shaped like the kukri, a curved Nepalese knife carried by Gurkhas.

(Photo by wrcook)

Captive banded kukri snake (Oligodon fasciolatus) feeding. Note the large teeth;
(Photo from Venomdoc Forums)

These teeth are used to slit open reptile and bird eggs, which form the bulk of the diet of kukri snakes, although they will also prey on lizards, frogs, and rodents. Unlike other snake species which specialise on eggs, a kukri snake does not swallow the egg whole, but uses its teeth to slice a hole in the shell before sticking its head inside and swallowing the yolk. The teeth also enable the kukri snake to prey upon skinks; these lizards are typically covered in smooth and hard scales, and such teeth allows the snake to get a firm grip on its prey. They are semi-fossorial, which means that they spend a lot of time burrowing and living underground.

Formerly thought to be non-venomous, it has turned out that kukri snakes do possess a venom gland. The venom is too weak to have any serious effects on humans, though it may cause pain, localised swelling, and prolonged bleeding. The bulk of the damage comes from the teeth, which can inflict slashing wounds on soft human tissues, creating a bloody mess. Even leather gloves are apparently useless, and a bite from kukri snake may leave scars that last for years.

This is what happens when you get bitten by a kukri snake;
(Photo by Huang Wen-San, from Not Exactly Rocket Science)

When threatened, kukri snakes often raise and wave their tails about, exposing the often brightly-coloured underside. This is possibly to distract the predator and divert attention from the more vulnerable head. Should the threat go for the tail, this gives the snake the opportunity to strike in self-defence.

Taiwan kukri snake (Oligodon formosanus);
(Photo by Kevin Messenger)

Ornate kukri snake (Oligodon ornatus);
(Photo by S k i n k)

This tendency to wave the tail may also be a form of mimicry; for instance, the highly venomous banded Malayan coral snake (Calliophis intestinalis) will respond to a threat by flipping itself over and exposing its strikingly patterned underside.

Banded Malayan coral snake;
(Photo by Manticor@)

Banded Malayan coral snake;
(Photo by Manticor@)

Not to mention that the striped kukri snake, with its red dorsal stripe and black markings, does actually bear a superficial resemblance to the coral snake;
(Photo by Shirley Ng, from Life's Indulgences)

In some extreme cases, when caught, male kukri snakes are known to extrude their hemipenes (the equivalent of the penis in snakes and lizards), though whether this has any defensive purpose, or is simply a fear response, remains to be seen.

Banded kukri snake displaying its (bright pink) hemipenes;
(Photo by Wolfgang Wüster, from CalPhotos)

Interestingly enough, a population of kukri snakes is unique in being territorial. On Orchid Island near Taiwan, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) haul up onto the beaches to nest, laying up to a hundred eggs, which are buried and then abandoned. This massive, unguarded stockpile of food presents an irresistible food source for the resident Taiwanese kukri snakes, which invade the nests and feast for up to 2 months before the eggs hatch.

Green turtle laying eggs. For a snake that specialises on eggs, this is a real feast;
(Photo by LIVING_BY_THE_MOMENT)

Naturally, such larders are worth defending from rivals. Should more than one snake enter a turtle nest, fights may ensue. With their sharp teeth, the kukri snakes can deal serious damage to one another, and given that the tail is often employed to distract attackers, it is this part of the body that bears many of the injuries from these battles. And because the hemipenes are often revealed during these encounters, the males tend to have a disadvantage; after all, you can't sire any more young if your genitals were injured or bitten off. As for females, even if she loses part of her tail, her ability to reproduce is unimpeded. And so, the males are more likely to concede ownership of the turtle nests to the females.

Taiwanese kukri snake;
(Photo by cowyeow)

This is reflected in the behaviour shown by the different sexes. When male Taiwanese kukri snakes find a turtle nest, they eat as much as they can and move on. Females, on the other hand, will enter the nest and guard it fiercely. If she finds a male already inside, she will forcibly evict him, even though males are generally larger. If another snake subsequently arrives at the nest she is defending, the newcomer has a higher chance of being able to stay and share the spoils if it's a female; males tend to leave in a hurry, often with fresh wounds on their tails. It's a unique combination among snakes of having an abundant, immobile, and long-lasting supply of food, with the right weapons to defend this resource. As noted in the study, "Unusual circumstances thus have favored this surprising evolution of territorial behavior, such that only females can defend a long-lasting and abundant supply of food with little additional cost."

Taiwanese kukri snake;
(Photo by robferblue)

It's fascinating to see what sort of wildlife one may encounter, even in the heartlands. One can only hope that more people will learn to leave these snakes alone, or at least contact the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) Wildlife Rescue to safely capture and relocate them.

Beware of 2m-long python spotted swimming in Punggol Waterway

2012-01-09T18:00:00.000+08:00

STOMPer Darren saw a two-metre-long python swimming in the Punggol Waterway.

Said the STOMPer:

"A two-metre-long python was spotted swimming in the Punggol Waterway.

"I am concerned about the safety of the public, especially for the children who play in that area over the weekends.

"The relevant authorities should try to capture it."

It's unfortunate to see people harbouring such ignorant and intolerant attitudes, and displaying such paranoia. While the reticulated python (Broghammerus reticulatus) has been implicated in incidents where humans were killed and even consumed, these cases involved exceptionally large specimens. A smaller python might be able to strangle you, but it probably wouldn't have any chance of swallowing an adult human. Any records of smaller pythons attacking people would involve some form of provocation, and self-defence on the snake's part.

Most of our urban pythons are content with preying upon rats, birds, and in the case of the larger individuals, the occasional cat or dog. Small children may be at risk, but I think this emphasises the point about taking care of your children and ensuring that they remain safe in the first place; after all, it's far more likely that a toddler might fall into the waterway and drown , or wander onto the road and get hit by a bus, or eat a poisonous plant, than be eaten by a python.

What's up with people being so irrationally fearful of large reptiles in the water?

'It looks like a Komodo dragon': Huge monitor lizard spotted in Kallang River

2012-01-08T18:00:00.000+08:00

STOMPer Elise saw a creature that looked like a 'komodo dragon' swimming in Kallang Reservoir. The animal, which is probably a huge monitor lizard, has also been seen in other parts of Singapore.

Said the STOMPer:

"Last Thursday while we were walking our dog along Kallang Reservoir (near Costa Rhu Condo), we noticed a huge creature swimming in the water.

"After looking at the pictures taken by a friend of ours, we believe this is a Komodo Dragon.

"How did it get to Kallang reservoir? As the reservoir is daily used for boating and other water activities, we thought we should report this."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time someone has misidentified a Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) as a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), and submitted their sightings to STOMP.

'Komodo dragon' seen in Chinese Garden lake: Isn't it known to attack humans?
Tourist spots 'komodo dragon' in the wild at Chinese Garden
Could this be a Komodo Dragon at Jurong Lake?

I never fail to find myself aghast at the ignorance so openly displayed by people. It's almost insulting that such a large and magnificent creature like the Malayan water monitor, which is highly adaptable and commonly encountered in both rural and urban areas throughout much of Southeast Asia, should be mistaken for its giant relative time and time again. Are people really so sheltered and insulated from the natural world that they don't know anything about our native monitor lizards, but can mention a species not found in Singapore? Surely years of our schools bringing hordes of screaming students to visit Sungei Buloh for field trips would have made more people aware of the presence of large monitor lizards in Singapore.

Then there will be those people who don't realise that these monitor lizards are residents, even in our urban waterways, and assume that they swam over from Malaysia or Indonesia, or escaped from captivity. Not to mention the paranoia that often comes in tandem with such ignorance. More often than not, the person submitting the sighting will mention the possible risk to human safety, with the appeal to the authorities to do something about the scaly threat. I find it sad that some people appear to operate under the misconception that any large reptile lurking in the neighbourhood is waiting to strike at some unsuspecting canoeist or angler and drag him to a watery grave. Whether it's an unfounded fear of all wild animals, or just a bias against reptiles, which are not furry and fluffy, depends on the individual.

While the Malayan water monitor does possess some potentially dangerous weapons, it seems generally loathe to use them on humans in an unprovoked attack. I wouldn't get too close, but there is no need to harbour such fears of people getting injured or killed by a marauding monitor. Up until now, I've yet to hear or read about any incidents in which a person suffered an unprovoked attack by a monitor lizard in Singapore.

As you would have noticed by now, this charismatic species is the mascot of this blog, and in one of my earliest posts, I shared more about how ignorance poses a great threat to this gigantic lizard, and to some extent, the rest of Singapore's biodiversity as well. Such posts on STOMP remind me of the reason why I chose to devote so much of my time to writing about nature: to help correct much of the ignorance and misinformation about our wildlife, expose people to the beauty of our natural heritage, and ultimately help nurture positive attitudes towards conservation.

You can read more of my monitor lizard-inspired writing over at Celebrating Singapore's Biodiversity, where I have a few guest entries about the three monitor lizard species present in Singapore. One such post is about the general ecology and biology of the Malayan water monitor, while another entry discusses some of the many common myths, mistakes, and misconceptions about this beautiful reptile, as well as some of the threats that it faces.

Ball-cutter fish

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000+08:00

(Photo from The Sun)

Over the past week, you may have read about the discovery of a fish with a rather unsavory taste for a particularly vulnerable part of the human anatomy.

In the rivers and lakes of northern Papua New Guinea, a creature has been attacking people in the water, biting off the (wince) testicles of fishermen. In 2001, 2 men supposedly bled to death after being so unceremoniously castrated. The articles don't state if other people have survived the attacks, but this unseen creature is said to be "like a human in the water, biting at the testicles of fishermen." I'm honestly not sure what this really means though. Does this imply that the animal responsible for the attacks has a bite more like that of a human being, unlike say, the bite of a crocodile, python, turtle, or shark?

(Photo from The Sun)

The hunt for this mysterious nutcruncher forms the premise of an episode of River Monsters, a popular Animal Planet documentary series hosted by biologist and angler Jeremy Wade. I do find it peculiar that while the news about pacu with rather bizarre tastes has only recently spread around the world, the relevant episode was apparently telecast in April 2011.

How's that for some nightmare fuel?

In any case, the culprit is thought to be a red-bellied pacu (Piaractus brachypomus), a fish that hails from the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in tropical South America. It is a large fish, with records of up to 88 centimetres in length, and the heaviest at 25 kilograms. In its native haunts, it bears the name of pirapatinga.

(Photo by Ron's Aquarium Photos)

It has a close relative, often known simply as the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus), that is found further south in the Paraguay-Paraná river basin. Slightly smaller than the red-bellied pacu, this species reaches a maximum of 40 centimetres in length, with the heaviest individual ever measured weighing 20 kilograms.

(Photo by West Nashville Gringo)

The name "pacu" however also applies to an even larger relative, a fish also called the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), also from the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. This giant reaches a metre in length, and weighs up to 40 kilograms.

(Photo by Ron's Aquarium Photos)

Despite their newfound reputation, pacu are actually omnivores that specialise on fruits and seeds. In some regions, where large areas of forest are seasonally flooded due to heavy rainfall, these fish (among others) leave the river channels and spread out across the floodplains. Here, fallen fruit and seeds make up an important part of their diet. In fact, studies of reveal that pacu are important seed dispersers in South American forests, potentially transporting seeds over great distances; a palm species in the Pantanal even depends almost entirely on pacu to disperse its seeds.

Fruit used as bait when fishing for pacu;
(Photo by West Nashville Gringo)

If you thought the pacu looked a little familiar, that's because they are actually related to the more carnivorous piranhas. Pacus and piranhas together form a family known as the Serrasalmidae, which in some references is still referred to as the subfamily Serrasalminae, under the family Characidae. Whatever the case, yes, your innocuous and harmless little neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) is actually a relative of the infamous red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) and the newly notorious nut-cracking pacu.

Neon tetra;
(Photo by balintkafoto)

Red-bellied piranha;
(Photo by diwan)

Unlike the piranhas, which have sharp teeth designed for carving out chunks of flesh, the teeth of pacu are adapted for cracking open the hard shells of nuts and seeds. Needless to say, these fishes possess a powerful bite. Despite being mostly vegetarian when adult, pacu will feed on smaller animals such as insects and smaller fish, and as we've seen here, will not hesitate to go after nuts of a different sort.

Red-bellied piranha teeth;
(Photo by crocroger)

Tambaqui teeth;
(Photo by Likestofish)

Because of their large size and supposedly tasty flesh, pacu are heavily exploited for food, to the point that there are fears that populations in the wild are being overexploited.

Tambaqui (above) and pacu (below) for sale in Manaus;
(Photos by Marcos Delmar Photostream)

(Photo by Fishwhisperer)

Their desirability as food fish, tolerance of a range of water conditions, and ability to grow rapidly, have made all three species of pacu prime candidates for aquaculture and fisheries. Pacu are very strong fighters when hooked, and so they have become popular with sport fishermen. As a result, populations of the various species of pacu can now be found in many parts of the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In the case of the pacu in the Sepik and Ramu rivers in Papua New Guinea, these were deliberately released along with several other fish species as part of a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation project to improve fisheries in these areas.

Tambaqui (above) and pacu (below) caught in Thailand;
(Photos by Dave 2x)

Pacu for sale in Kuching market, Malaysia;
(Photo by Eric Hunt)

Young pacu are quite commonly encountered in the pet trade, and many unsuspecting novices purchase them without carrying out proper research, only to find out that the little juveniles don't stay small for very long. There are many reports of pacu being caught in North American rivers and lakes, presumably dumped by irresponsible owners who could not afford to provide the care and space required for such large fishes. Because of their close resemblance to piranhas, such discoveries of pacu in foreign lands inevitably create some panic, especially since juvenile pacu do actually look a lot like piranha.

Juvenile red-bellied pacu;
(Photo by andripogo)

Red-bellied piranha;
(Photo by g-na)

Presumably, most of these newly liberated pacu will die when the cold of winter sets in, but in warmer climates like that of Florida, there is always the possibility that pacu will eventually establish breeding populations.

Pacu at Underwater World Singapore;
(Photo by Kathryn Goering)

In Singapore, I have seen pacu being featured in exhibits in the Singapore Zoo and Underwater World Singapore, in some ornamental ponds alongside koi, as well as on a few fish farms. I do recall seeing young pacu being offered for sale in pet shops, although I have not had any recent encounters. There are also fishing ponds catering to anglers that are stocked with pacu (among other exotic species). In any case, pacu have somehow managed to enter our reservoirs, with red-bellied pacu being recorded at Jurong Lake and MacRitchie Reservoir, and an unverified sighting of a "piranha" at Lower Seletar is likely to be another pacu. These are most probably discarded pets, dumped by owners after outgrowing their tanks, although there is also the possibility that an angler, wanting the thrill of pitting their skills against a pacu without having to travel to South America, may have released pacu into our reservoirs. It's rumoured that this is how peacock bass (Cichla spp.), another South American fish that is a prized sport fishing target, first entered our reservoirs. As far as I know, unlike tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), pacu have failed to become established as a food fish here, and are raised mostly for the aquarium trade.

Pacu caught at fishing pond, Pasir Ris(?);
(Photo by farmway3)

Whether pacu have any negative impact on freshwater ecosystems in Singapore is unknown, but at the moment, it appears that like many other non-native fish species, they are largely restricted to the open waters of our reservoirs, and have yet to invade our forest streams, the last refuge for many of our native aquatic species. There are already a number of large and potentially dangerous exotic fish in our waters, and while the pacu is usually thought to be a peaceful vegetarian, its suspected testicle-chomping tendencies really cast it in a new sinister light. I'm sure it goes without saying that if you're male, going skinny-dipping in the reservoir is not a good idea at all, unless you want to run the risk of never being able to reproduce ever again.

Seven Links Blog Project: A Milestone Year

2012-01-07T09:30:00.000+08:00

We're almost a week into the new year, and while I'm not really the sort who likes to reflect on the past year and mull over my successes and failures, Crystal Riley from Crystal and Bryan in Singapore has tagged me to take part in the Seven Links Blog Project, where I repost links to seven of my posts from different categories. Although I was tagged last year, I only found out last night, and I guess it's still not too late for me to look back on 2011.

2011 was a year in which I really started to focus a lot of energy on blogging, though work and personal matters inevitably got in the way at times. It also marked a stage where blogging really helped open up a lot of opportunities for me in many ways. I'm immensely proud of a number of posts that I wrote and published in 2011, for various reasons.

Your most beautiful post: The King and I: King Cobras in Singapore

(Photo by gerry morgan)

I love reptiles, and I'm always jealous of people who're able to have close encounters with snakes in the wild. Perhaps one of the holy grails of local herpetology for me would be to spot a wild king cobra. A paper by Kelvin Lim, Leong Tzi Ming, and Francis Lim, collating records of king cobra in Singapore, inspired me to do a post on one of the most regal and majestic of all serpents. To be able to cross paths with this potentially dangerous and yet stunningly beautiful reptile in the forest would be a real thrill for me (of course, such an encounter should ideally end with both the snake and I leaving unhurt).

Your most popular post: Harry Potter and the Parliament of Owls

(Photo by hump7)

It turns out that my most popular post in 2011 was the post on king cobras, but this one comes in second place. Certainly, all the hype and excitement surrounding the final installation of the Harry Potter movie series helped inspire me to write two posts, one on the owl species featured in the books and movies, and a guest post on Celebrating Singapore's Biodiversity on the owl species of Singapore. Apparently, the Magical Quill challenge that allowed Harry Potter fans to register early for access to Pottermore (a website dedicated to JK Rowling's magical world of wizardry that's currently still in beta) posed a riddle that led a lot of people to my blog: "How many owls are on the Eeylops Owl Emporium sign? Multiply by 49." My post didn't exactly provide the answer to that (oops), but the answer was readily available elsewhere.

Your most controversial post: Macaques, Conflict and Keyboard Warriors

(Photo by amos1766)

Long-tailed macaques stand out as a species that is perpetually being involved in conflict between humans and wildlife. Whether it's monkeys entering homes, monkeys harassing humans in parks and nature reserves, or idiots feeding monkeys despite the threat of heavy fines, these fellow primates constantly remind us of the impact of our actions; you cannot have a picnic in the park or choose to live on the edge of the rainforest without considering how the resident monkey troops will behave. In response to a lot of paranoia and stupidity regarding macaques attacking people, I wrote a letter to the Straits Times Forum, and it was published. This also led me to think a lot about the value of parks and nature reserves (who owns them: humans or wildlife?), as well as my devotion towards fighting ignorance of local wildlife and conservation issues. At the very least, being a keyboard warrior for wildlife has made me able to deal with a lot of nonsense that might give others brain damage.

Your most helpful post: The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

(Photo by zh3nG 正)

Bedok Reservoir has popped up quite often in the news over the past year, and it's not just because of all the human corpses found there. A swarming episode at the beginning of 2011 created a lot of buzz (literally) over midges, and while these midges don't suck blood, they did cause a great deal of inconvenience and discomfort to residents, as well as loss of revenue for businesses in the area. This post was meant to publicise the research of Adam Quek and Lin Yijun, two of my colleagues, who published a paper based on this event. And based on comments and recent news articles, it appears that the midges have returned in 2012. At the very least, I hope that this post will prove useful to any disgruntled resident affected by the midges at Bedok Reservoir, and lead them to my colleagues' paper.

A post whose success surprised you: Timberland Earthkeepers and the Horqin Desert

(Photo by TBL_Interactive)

This post helped pave the way for some of the most memorable experiences of 2011. For once, there was a blogging contest perfect for someone who focuses on nature and conservation, and while I was fervently hoping that I would win, I was honestly taken by surprise when I received a call one day announcing that I had been selected as the winner. My close friends will all know just how happy I was. Having the chance to travel to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan with Timberland, and take part in some of their activities to help fight desertification, was truly an opportunity of a lifetime. The spectacular landscapes and the travel companions who have since become my friends truly helped to make this a worthwhile experience. Not to mention that it marked a turning point as I made the transition between jobs, and provided a great form of nature therapy during a rather depressing period of my year.

A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved: That's no fish: Alligator spotted at Sembawang Park?

(Photo by lkarzag)

A lot of my content is inspired by posts submitted to that bastion of citizen journalism (sigh), STOMP. While it proves to be a useful resource for wildlife sightings, there are times when there is so much misinformation and rubbish that you just can't help but shake your head and facepalm, before issuing another online ass-kicking. This post was one such example, where a photo of a false gharial at the Singapore Zoo became the topic of a rather lame and stupid hoax. At least this gave me a chance to write at length about the false gharial, a rather obscure crocodylian that frankly deserves a lot more attention.

The post that you are most proud of: Stepping on Stonefish: A Year On (Part 1) and Stepping on Stonefish: A Year On (Part 2)

(Photo by James)

Okay, I cheated on this one, since this post technically consists of two parts, and because I started work on this post in late 2010. But still, this post was a true labour of love, because I really wanted to share about the experience of getting stung by a stonefish. If I'm not wrong, I think this is still the most comprehensive personal account of an incident with a stonefish, documenting the entire painful ordeal from the moment I was stung, as well as the whole recovery process. Believe me when I say that I dedicated a lot of time towards writing this, including reading up on stonefishes, as well as searching my Twitter archive. Besides, this really counts as one of the most epic ways to celebrate the new year. I hope that it's encouraged more people to take safety very seriously when visiting our shores.

Now here comes the part where I'm supposed to nominate a few other bloggers to join in, and to share seven of their most memorable posts or experiences from 2011. The following are friends of mine that I respect for their own talents and insights in sharing Singapore's wildlife.

Ria Tan of Wild Shores of Singapore

Marcus Ng of The Annotated Budak

Andy Dinesh of SGBeachBum

James Koh of Singapore Nature

Nicky Bay of Macro Photography in Singapore

Here's to the new year! May 2012 be an awesome year, full of new discoveries, adventures, and further successes in the never-ending fight to protect our fragile biodiversity.

On Meat-eating Giant Pandas

2012-01-05T16:30:00.000+08:00

(Photo from Huffington Post UK)

A few days ago, this sequence of camera trap images of a giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) gnawing on the carcass of an animal started showing up on news sites all over the world. It's received quite a fair bit of attention, and certainly reveals a darker side to the seemingly placid and peaceful nature of the giant panda. However, it does appear that much of the coverage of this story overlooks a couple of facts.

For one thing, much of the reaction to this has been that of surprise, when it's actually been known for decades that while giant pandas feed predominantly on bamboo, they will consume meat on rare occasions. Still, as far as I know, this is the first time a giant panda has been caught on camera actually eating meat, with the images publicised to the western world (more on that later).

Wild giant panda photographed by camera trap;
(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

In the past, giant pandas have been witnessed catching small rodents such as Chinese bamboo rats (Rhizomys sinensis). In the late 1980s, when conservationist George Schaller and his team were attempting to capture giant pandas so that they could be fitted with radio collars, domestic pig bones and goat heads were used to lure the bears into the traps. The hair of golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) and the bones and hair of alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) have also been found in the droppings of wild giant pandas.

Golden snub-nosed monkey;

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii);
(Photos by Smithsonian Wild)

Here are some older records of giant pandas revealing their carnivorous ancestry (Click to enlarge).

(Table from Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation)

Whether these cases involved active predation or scavenging is not revealed, but I won't be surprised if in some cases, a giant panda will deliberately kill and eat a small and easy target. After all, earlier last year, a giant panda in the Wuhan Zoo chased down and killed a peacock (Pavo cristatus) in its enclosure.

(Photo from The Telegraph)

(As an aside, this reminds me a lot of another recent clash between a giant panda and a peacock)

As for the locals who live in giant panda country, some have seen for themselves what happens when a giant panda develops a taste for domestic livestock. There's also a short documentary segment from a Chinese television show (parts one and two) about a wild animal that began visiting a village to kill domestic goats. After an overly dramatic re-enactment in which a hunting party heads into the forest in an attempt to track down the predator, a trap is set in the village and baited with a live goat. The culprit turns out to be a giant panda, which is subsequently captured and brought into captivity. If only there was an update about this particular individual and its feeding habits!

(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

The giant panda shares its forest habitat with two other species of bears: the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the Tibetan subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus).

Asiatic black bear;
(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

One important point to take note of is that meat-eating still occurs very infrequently in giant pandas, and it is not known if giant pandas turn to meat to meet some nutritional requirements, such as when females are pregnant or raising cubs, or when their staple food is harder to obtain, such as during bamboo die-offs. It could be that the few records of giant pandas eating animal matter simply represent chance encounters with carrion or really easy opportunities to pick off vulnerable prey. Perhaps it's all a matter of individual preferences.

Another point of contention has been the identity of the animal being chewed on by the giant panda. Most English news sources state that the giant panda was eating an antelope (Daily Mail, Huffington Post UK) or a gnu/wildebeest (Guardian, MSNBC, NPR, Telegraph, even the BBC).

It's certainly very odd, considering that the two species of wildebeest (also known as gnu) (Connochaetes spp.) are antelopes native to the savannas and grasslands of southern and eastern Africa.

Common wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), Tanzania;
(Photo by Tommaso Balestrini)
Certainly not the sort of ungulate you'd see in the mountain forests of Sichuan.

Where did the "gnu" or "wildebeest" identification come from?

Chinese news sources (like Sina.com.cn) state that the giant panda was feeding on the carcass of a 牛羚 ('cow-antelope'), which is one of the Chinese names used for wildebeest, also known as 角马 ('horn-horse').

I'm sure it's probably a case of an error in translation, with the English-language news sites simply accepting the erroneous identification without double-checking if there are actually wildebeest in China.

But if it's not a wildebeest, then what animal was the giant panda feeding on?

It turns out that there is another animal that bears the name of 牛羚, one that definitely shares the same habitat as the giant panda: the takin (Budorcas taxicolor).

(Photos by Smithsonian Wild)

This large, shaggy herbivore does bear some resemblance to a wildebeest or a cow, although it's actually more closely related to sheep and goats.

(Photos by Smithsonian Wild)

So that solves the puzzle; no, it wasn't a case of a lost wildebeest, but just an error in translation of the term 牛羚. At the moment, only Cool Green Science, the conservation blog of The Nature Conservancy, correctly states that the giant panda was feeding on a takin. The Nature Conservancy also has a short slideshow with more camera trap images of our meat-eating giant panda.

Apparently, the takin carcass was that of an adult, estimated to weigh more than 100 kilograms. Given their size and reputation for being aggressive, I think it's unlikely that the giant panda managed to hunt and kill a takin. In this case, it was determined that the takin had died from natural causes at least three to four days before the giant panda visited the carcass. It's not mentioned whether the takin was most likely killed by a predator, or had died due to illness, old age, or had simply fallen off a cliff.

I think you've probably realised by now that the takin is my new favourite obscure animal;
(Photos by Smithsonian Wild)

Now that more people know that giant pandas do consume meat once in a while, there's a lot of potential for further research. Is there variation between giant panda populations with regards to carnivorous habits, and if this is the case, what are the possible factors affecting meat consumption in giant pandas? Are giant pandas more likely to eat meat when bamboo is in short supply, or is it simply innate behaviour that's triggered merely by the easy access to meat, regardless of the abundance of bamboo? Does meat-eating come naturally, or do cubs learn from their mothers? Are pregnant or lactating females more likely to consume meat, given their increased need for nutrients? Do we have 'rogue' giant pandas that abandon their bamboo diet and become serial killers of livestock? How capable are giant pandas at catching live prey, and how similar are they to other bear species in terms of hunting behaviour? How important are large predators such as wolves (Canis lupus) and leopards (Panthera pardus) in providing carcasses for giant pandas to scavenge, and now that these carnivores are vanishing from many forests due to hunting and persecution, how does this affect the availability of carrion for the local giant pandas?

Leopard in Sichuan forest;
(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is why giant pandas depend so overwhelmingly on bamboo, when they live in forests full of much more nutritious fare, whether it's in the form of berries or meat. Fossil evidence suggests that as long as 2 million years ago, the giant panda's ancient relatives were already evolving to feed on bamboo, although to this day, the giant panda's claws, teeth, and digestive tract still betray its origins as a carnivore, and it remains horribly inefficient at converting already nutrient-poor bamboo into energy. This is why the giant panda spends so much of its time feeding or sleeping, and unlike the Asiatic black bear and brown bear that share its forests, doesn't hibernate at all during the winter - its diet simply doesn't allow it to build up the fat reserves needed for hibernation.

(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

Bamboo provides a stable and abundant year-round food supply, and is not exploited by many other species, and the giant panda has evolved to fill a very special niche. However, at the same time, it's lost the dietary flexibility that is seen in most other bear species, which are capable of feeding on a wide range of items, both animal and vegetable in origin.

(Photo by Smithsonian Wild)

The giant panda could presumably prosper on a diet similar to that of other bears, though that raises the question of why we don't have more records of giant pandas eating meat, or even other more nutritious plant matter such as berries and bark. Captive giant pandas certainly seem to do alright when foodstuffs other than bamboo are incorporated into their diet, though I wonder if any zoo would ever allow its precious giant pandas to be raised on a diet more suited for say, a brown bear.

Giant panda eating apple, Berlin Zoo;
(Photo by AnthonyGurr)

Salad for the grizzly bear, San Francisco Zoo;
(Photo by wynner3)

Fish for the grizzly bear, San Francisco Zoo;
(Photo by birdbuddy)

Perhaps, given enough time, giant pandas may become even more specialised for feeding on bamboo, and lose even these occasional cravings for meat. Or there may come a stage, several millenia in the future, where in the face of ecological changes, giant pandas end up returning to a more varied diet akin to that of other bears. Of course, this depends on the continued long-term survival of giant panda populations in the wild. Far from a dead end doomed to go extinct, I like to think of the giant panda as an evolutionary success story, and it is interesting to consider how an animal like the giant panda has evolved to become a vegetarian and managed to survive, despite retaining so much baggage from its carnivorous ancestry.

Ribbons: Terrestrial Nemerteans of Singapore

2011-12-26T22:17:00.000+08:00

People with a fascination for marine life would probably have heard of nemerteans, commonly known as ribbon worms.

Black and white ribbon worm (Baseodiscus delineatus), Terumbu Pempang Darat;

Red ribbon worm, Kusu Island;
(Photos by Ria)

Most ribbon worms live in marine environments, with a small proportion adapted to freshwater habitats. Just earlier today, I learnt that a small handful of nemertean species have actually managed to colonise the land, and that they can be found in Singapore!

For those of us who explore the forests at night, it's not uncommon to find arrowhead flatworms (F. Bipaliidae) with their characteristic heads, especially in damp areas, or after heavy rain.

Two species of arrowhead flatworm seen in Singapore's forests;
(Photos by James)

However, we've also seen a different sort of worm, one without the arrow-shaped head. There are no segments, so these are not annelid worms, like the leeches and earthworms. All this while, we've assumed that they were a different sort of terrestrial flatworm, though they weren't exactly very flat.

Chestnut Avenue, 5th February 2011;

This type of worm is quite small, about 5 centimetres in length. Thin and slender, it has longitudinal stripes running down the length of its body.

Chestnut Avenue, 5th February 2011;
(Photos by Kok Sheng)

Dairy Farm Road, 14th July 2010;
(Photo by James)

James has found one of these worms entangled with an apparently dead jumping spider. Was the worm eating the spider?

Durian Loop, 17th December 2011;

Yesterday, Nicky shared this photo on Facebook, asking if anyone knew about the identity of this enigmatic worm. Here are more photos by Nicky, taken at the Durian Loop on 17th December.

While I still believed that it was a flatworm, Melvyn ventured that it might be a ribbon worm. I looked up the Wikipedia entry on ribbon worms, and found the following useful snippets of information:

Mainly in the tropics and subtropics, about 12 species appear in freshwater, and about a dozen species live on land in cool, damp places, for example under rotting logs.

[...]

Another terrestrial genus, Geonemertes, is mostly found in Australasia but has species in the Seychelles, WIDELY ACROSS THE INDO-PACIFIC, in Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, in Frankfurt, in the Canary Islands, in Madeira and in the Azores. (Emphasis mine)

A search on Flickr for 'Geonemertes' revealed the following photos:

Sabah, Borneo;
(Photo by artour_a)

Tangerang, Java;
(Photo by gbohne)

Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia;
(Photo by terraincognita96)

I also managed to find more photos of what seems to be feeding behaviour in terrestrial nemerteans.

(Photos by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com))

Florida;
(Photo by smccann)

It seems increasingly likely that these are terrestrial ribbon worms. Which is amazing, because not too long ago, I'd only just learnt that there was a small number of ribbon worms that lived in freshwater.

One thing I noticed about the macro shots of these nemerteans is the presence of 2 small eyes, often making them look a lot like miniature blind snakes (F. Typhlopidae). You can clearly see the eyes in the following photos:

Left: Chestnut Avenue, 17th July 2010; (Photo by James)
Right: Chestnut Avenue, 5th February 2011; (Photo by Kok Sheng)

Not all nemertean species possess eyes, but in those that do, the number may vary, from 2 to 176 eyes! James has a photo of another unidentified worm, which intriguingly, appears to have multiple pairs of eyes.

Nangka Trail, 16th July 2011;

It is believed that the simple eyes are used primarily for detecting light; like all soft-bodied terrestrial animals prone to dessication, terrestrial nemerteans shun the light.

Terrestrial ribbon worms are not very well-studied at all, and although thirteen species have been described from around the world, it appears that there is no information about the nemerteans found in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. However, a handful of species are known to be very widely distributed. For example, a species known as Geonemertes pelaensis has apparently been found in places as far-flung as Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, Palau, Samoa, Hawaii, the West Indies, Bermuda, and Florida. If I had to hazard a guess as to the identity of our own terrestrial nemertean, this would be it.

Leptonemertes chalicophora was first discovered in the Palm House in Frankfurt, but has subsequently been found in California, Madeira, the Azores, and the Canary Islands. Another widely distributed terrestrial nemertean is Argonemertes dendyi, which was originally found in southwest Australia, but has since been recorded in the British Isles, California, the Azores, the Canary Islands, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Presumably, thanks to the international trade in live plants, these worms have been inadvertently transported all over the world while stowing away in potting substrate.

Like most of their marine relatives, terrestrial ribbon worms are thought to be predators, although the feeding ecology of most species remains unknown. Ribbon worms are notable for their proboscis, which is the primary organ used in capturing prey. This proboscis is a long hollow tube that is usually tucked away within a sheath that may stretch for nearly the entire body length.

(Drawing from Bumblebee.org)

When the ribbon worm detects prey, muscles in the sheath around the proboscis contract, causing it to turn inside out and shooting it out of the worm's body at high speed. For some, the proboscis is coated in a sticky, toxic secretion that ensnares prey. For others, there is a sharp barb at the tip of proboscis known as the stylet, which punctures the victim while injecting toxins and digestive secretions. Either way, prey is immobilised, and is then either swallowed whole, or the insides are partially digested before being sucked out by the worm.

(Drawing from Animal Diversity & Evolutionary Principles FA2011)

In this photo, a marine ribbon worm (Paranemertes peregrina) is using its proboscis to attempt to capture a much larger polychaete worm, San Juan Islands;
(Photo from A Snail's Odyssey)

Here are some photos of a terrestrial ribbon worm (possibly Argonemertes australiensis) that illustrate the amazing length of the proboscis.

Before:

And after:

And this is a video of this same worm, showing how quickly the proboscis is launched:

(Photos and video by Daniel O'Brien)

The video also presents how the proboscis is used as an escape mechanism in many terrestrial nemerteans. After shooting out its proboscis, the worm retracts it while the tip is still stuck to the ground. This pulls the entire worm's body forward and away from the threat.

Besides the fully terrestrial ribbon worms, there are other ribbon worms found living in transitional habitats. For instance, our mangroves are home to a ribbon worm (Prosadenoporus sp.), which can be found in mud lobster mounds and under the bark of rotten wood or tree trunks. Once classified under Pantinonemertes, (which has since been synonymised with Prosadenoporus), this species is considered locally endangered. The exact species of mangrove ribbon worm found in Singapore is unknown, but there are other semi-terrestrial relatives in the region, such as Prosadenoporus winsori in Australia, and Prosadenoporus fujianensis in China, both of which were found in mangrove habitats.

The supralittoral zone, or the high shore, is another habitat where one may find ribbon worms that have gained some independence from the sea. Here, there are nemerteans that spend most of their lives out of the water, hiding in crevices and beneath rocks, wherever there is moisture.

Lazarus Island, 20th February 2011;
(Photo by Marcus)

Looks like we can't automatically assume that every unsegmented worm we find on land is a flatworm. While the arrowhead flatworms are unmistakable, there are a number of species of terrestrial flatworm that possess rounded or pointed heads, which can lead to a lot of confusion.

For instance, the forests are also inhabited by yet another species of worm. It is much larger than the terrestrial nemertean, around 10 centimetres in length. It's thicker-bodied, and is black with a thin pale dorsal stripe.

Chestnut Avenue, 5th February 2011

Chestnut Avenue, 5th February 2011;
(Photos by Kok Sheng)

Chestnut Avenue, 17th July 2010;
(Photo by James)

Tanah Merah, 18th April 2011;

It has a pair of small eyes, just like a terrestrial nemertean.

Admiralty Park, 22nd July 2010;
(Photo by James)

While writing this post, I was going to suggest that this was a second species of terrestrial ribbon worm found in Singapore. However, I ended up stumbling upon the Wikipedia entry on a species of terrestrial flatworm known as the New Guinea flatworm (Platydemus manokwari).

(Photo by Shinji Sugiura, taken from Wikipedia)

So, the large black worm we find in the forests is not a ribbon worm, but a flatworm after all.

Unlike the arrowhead flatworms, the New Guinea flatworm belongs to a different family, the Rhynchodemidae. First found on the island of New Guinea (where else?), the native distribution of the New Guinea flatworm is unknown. This species has been inadvertently introduced to other areas in the Indo-Pacific, such as the Maldives, the Philippines, Queensland, Okinawa and the Bonin Islands in Japan, Hawaii, Palau, Vanuatu, Mariana Islands, and Hawaii. It looks like we can add Singapore to the list of places where it has become established.

The New Guinea flatworm is a voracious predator, and preys heavily on terrestrial snails. Hence, it is feared that the spread of this invasive species has contributed to the rapid decline or extinction of many endemic land snails found on these remote Pacific islands. Whether it will have the same impact on our native snail fauna remains to be seen.

New Guinea flatworms attacking earthworms, woodlice and snails;
(Photos from Sugiura, 2009)

In many ways, both flatworms and ribbon worms, despite not being closely related at all, share a lot in common. A large majority of flatworms and ribbon worms are carnivorous. Both groups are predominantly made up of marine species, many of which are brightly coloured, with a small number found in freshwater and on land. And finally, both the ribbon worms and flatworms have terrestrial representatives that have become established in areas far from their native range, thanks to international shipments of plants and soil.

Gibson, R. (1995) Nemertean genera and species of the world: an annotated checklist of original names and description citations, synonyms, current taxonomic status, habitats and recorded zoogeographic distribution. Journal of Natural History, 29(2): 271-562.

Gibson, R. & Moore, J. (2001) Further observations on the genus Geonemertes with a description of a new species from the Philippine Islands. Hydrobiologia, 365(1-3): 157-171.

Moore, J. (1985) The distribution and evolution of terrestrial nemertines. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 25(1): 15-21.

Moore, J. & Gibson, R. (1981) The Geonemertes problem (Nemertea). Journal of Zoology, 194(2): 175-201.

Moore, J. & Gibson, R. (1985) The evolution and comparative physiology of terrestrial and freshwater nemerteans. Biological Reviews, 60(2): 257-312.

Moore, J., Gibson, R. & Jones, H.D. (2001) Terrestrial nemerteans thirty years on. Hydrobiologia, 456(1-3): 1–6.

The Toddycats are going to Geylang!

2011-12-09T12:00:00.000+08:00

The Toddycats! will be hitting the heartlands, with a very special exhibition at the Geylang East Public Library this Saturday, 10th December. With an exhibition of specimens, educational posters, games, and talks, it's the perfect opportunity to learn more about Singapore's wildlife.

Here's a sneak preview of what you can expect to see, based on our briefing and training session yesterday evening.

Here are some of our volunteers doing a quick self-introduction. Many of them are Life Sciences undergraduates who will be guiding members of the public for the first time.

Among the veterans is Junius, who is also the mastermind behind XinHeritage, creating papercraft featuring some of our native wildlife.

He'll be selling these kits at the booth. No scissors or glue needed!

In keeping with a paleontological addition to our exhibit lineup (more on that in a bit), he's also developed papercraft with a more prehistoric theme.

*Hums Diana Ross - If We Hold On Together* (No points if you get the joke)

Ok, the dodo wasn't exactly a member of the Pleistocene megafauna, but these are all characters from the Ice Age movie.

No Toddycats! exhibition is complete without our educational posters, which have loyally served us for many years. They may be a little old, but the information within is still very much relevant.

We've also got games to help people learn more about our wildlife and the environments they live in!

Tze Kwan developed this simple challenge where you have to match the animals with their correct diet and habitats.

As well as simple board games that help educate people on our mangrove and marine ecosystems.

Of course, the main highlight of our exhibition must be all the specimens we've got on display. There's so much we can share with members of the public, but we promise that we'll try our best not to drown you with jargon or higher-level concepts.

If you saw our booth at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III, you will find some familiar specimens, such as the dugong fetus, Asian small-clawed otter, mud crabs, and horseshoe crabs. However, we've got a lot more specimens to showcase this time around. Here's a sneak peek at some of the specimens we've got:

A selection of fishes commonly encountered in coastal areas, especially near mangroves.

Three species of water snake found in our mangroves.

Our tree-climbing crabs; did you know that one of them is named after Singapore herself?

Plus a quick guide as to how to tell male and female crabs apart.

We'll also be featuring a number of skulls and skeletons.

I like the skulls of the crocodile and dolphin. Not only can you talk about how diet affects dentition, but it's also a good way to inform the public that yes, we still have crocodiles and dolphins in Singapore!

Another very special specimen that we'll have isn't pictured here, but it's sure to draw the crowd - an actual dinosaur fossil! No, Twinky, Apollo, and Prince haven't arrived in Singapore yet, but we'll have a genuine caudal vertebra from a diplodocid sauropod.

(Life reconstruction of Diplodocus by 'unlobogris')

(Skeletal reconstruction of Diplodocus by Scott Hartman)

(Life reconstruction of Diplodocus by Todd Marshall)

Even though this fossil (and the others that the new Natural History Museum is obtaining) hail from North America, it's likely that at some point in time, dinosaurs roamed in a corner of the supercontinent, which, after millions of years of geologic upheaval and continental drift, would eventually form the island now known as Singapore. Besides, dinosaurs are excellent tools at capturing the public's imagination, and can serve as a springboard for a wide array of topics, from evolutionary relationships and an understanding of the concept of deep time, to extinction and conservation.

Here we are, sharing information that hopefully will interest the visitors, or help them relate to some environmental issues threatening our bidiversity. These training sessions are an excellent opportunity to learn from one another, whether it's on content, tricks and skills in guiding, or how to deal with potentially difficult visitors.

We'll also have talks by some students and ex-students who have carried out research on native wildlife. With different areas of focus, such as the wildlife of Pulau Ubin, red junglefowl, wild boar, otters, and common palm civets, this is an excellent opportunity to learn and find out more from the people who've put in a lot of hard work to unravel some of wildlife mysteries.

At the end of the training session, it's time to start packing the specimens for their little trip out of the museum on Saturday.

These are fragile, so we take great care to ensure that they don't suffer any damage.

And they're ready for show and tell at Geylang East Public Library.

It's going to be an exciting day for the Toddycats!

Timberland's Vivocity Concept Store opens

2011-11-23T00:03:00.000+08:00

It's been months since I last saw my travelling companions and friends during my trip to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan in August, and last Friday, I had the excellent opportunity to catch up with them at an event organised by Timberland Singapore: the official opening of the new 2,400 sq ft concept store at Vivocity, a first for the brand's Asian outlets.

In conjunction with the occasion, a small exhibition was set up just outside the store, providing information on the Timberland Earthkeepers Collection.

The exhibition also features beautiful photos taken by the winners of the recent Earthkeepers photo contest, and the trip to Horqin in Inner Mongolia, where we helped to plant 800 pine saplings in an effort to help reverse the effects of local desertification, and restore the land back to the original forest.

No prizes for finding me in this group photo.

More photos, this time from the second leg of our adventure, to the stunningly beautiful Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan.

While everyone was still enjoying their drinks and hors d'oeuvres, George Young, the host of the local version of Million Dollar Money Drop, kicked off the event, with opening addresses by Timberland executives from overseas, who had been specially invited for the opening.

The new store focuses on the idea of bringing the outdoors indoors, also termed the 'box within a box' concept. Through the use of natural materials and textures, such as the wooden veneers that form the shelves and other structures within the store, there is an attempt to create that visceral emotional connection to the outdoors. At a time when there are widespread fears that people are losing touch with the natural world (with severe consequences for the future success of efforts in sustainability and conservation), it's nice to see how Timberland is continuing to stay true to its origins, by encouraging people to simply make the effort to step outside.

The picturesque landscapes of New England form the backdrop beyond the "windows"; this is the sort of rugged mountainous terrain where one can truly put the outdoor gear that Timberland is famous for to the test. It's meant to create the impression that you're in a cabin somewhere in the wilderness, and you're gazing out into the forest. Not quite perfect, but I'm already tempted to take my boots out and go off hiking somewhere.

In conjunction with the opening, the Spring 2012 Collection was launched, and the models did a great job showcasing the latest apparel, footwear and accessories. You can be dressed to spend the day outside, and yet still look trendy and fashionable. The theme for this collection focuses on spending time near the water, and accordingly, the gear is tailored for people who carry out a lot of activities that involve water. Whether you're the sort who likes to spend a day out at the beach or at the docks on your yacht, or can't get enough of canoeing or fishing, or simply want to stay dry and comfortable even after crossing a stream in the middle of a downpour, you're likely to find something that suits your needs.

I'm trying to think of an appropriate pick-up line should I actually encounter one of these ladies while I'm out hiking.

I like how there is a conscious attempt to make the whole shopping experience that much more interactive, and gives a lot of background knowledge to show how Timberland takes corporate social responsibility seriously. A touchscreen reminiscent of a giant iPad allows customers to look at topics from Timberland's tree-planting efforts around the world, to the use of a Green Index label to illustrate how it tries to mitigate the environmental impact from the manufacturing of its products.

You know what? I think Fever Avenue does a much better job at describing how this feature fits in with the overall store concept:

These digital features showcase Timberland's key products, green technologies and brand stories. For instance, a short lifestyle video of Timberland's tree planting efforts in China gives customers a better sense of what Timberland does outside the manufacturing of quality merchandise. The story-telling therefore allows customers to understand the brand's DNA and fosters a two-way dialogue where the company gets to speak directly to its customers in a retail space. The uniqueness and creativity of the entire retail concept and its applicability in this day and age shows just how much thought has gone into developing a retail concept that will not only engage Timberland's customers but connect them at a deeper level to the ruggedness and beauty of the outdoors.

Many of the products in the store are displayed together with a QR code. If you have a smartphone (these days, who doesn't?), you can simply scan the QR code for exclusive campaign-related videos.

Another focus of the new store concept is the Design Your Own booth, where you can actually customise your footwear.

There are samples nearby for you to refer to as you decide on your own unique design.

As an example, let's just say that I wish to have a special pair of boots. Very useful if I was say, travelling overseas in a group where everyone was wearing the same Timberland boots. Or a morbid scenario in which I meet with an unfortunate accident and die while outdoors. A distinctive design on my boots would be very useful in helping to identify my decomposed remains when they are subsequently found and recovered, pending confirmation from dental records and DNA analysis. I kid.

I can watch a short video that shows me how Timberland shoes and boots are made.

I can choose from a variety of styles. I already own a pair of the Classic 6 Inch boots, so I'll go with that and work from there.

There are many different details that I can select and customise; for the first step, I can personalise my own pair of boots with special embroidered initials.

I can choose the colour of my boots.

And it's not just the upper part of the shoe, but also the leather collar, stitching, as well as the soles, that can be customised.

There are some samples at the store to help me decide which colour to select for the collar.

Finally, I can choose the colour of my laces and eyelets.

Then it's all just a matter of printing out the final design, and handing it over to the retail staff, who will process the order. These customised designs are sent to the Timberland-owned factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and I can expect to receive my order in 3 to 4 weeks. For those of you who really take pride in being unique individuals, it's a simple way to have your very own exclusive and limited edition Timberland footwear.

You can play around with the Timberland Design Your Own website from the comfort of your home, or if you want to take a closer look at all the different designs and styles, with samples for further comparison, Design Your Own booths are available at the Vivocity and Raffles City outlets.

I had an enjoyable time, viewed a wide range of Timberland products, and had a mini reunion of sorts with many of the alumni from the 2011 Horqin trip.

The last time all of us were together in the same place, we were relaxing after dinner at the hotel in Jiuzhaigou.

I left with several items, which were distributed to all the invitees:

The catalogue for the Spring 2012 Collection

A special personal organiser that serves as diary and sketchbook, which comes with postcards, and a ruler that also doubles up as a bookmark

And finally, a $50 Timberland voucher. I'd just finished using the last of the vouchers I'd won back in August!

More photos can be viewed at Timberland's Facebook albums, one on the store itself, and the other on the Earthkeepers exhibition. Unfortunately, the photo exhibition was around only until 20th November, but the pictures are being compiled into a coffee table book that will be released in the near future, with proceeds from book sales going towards funding Timberland's reforestation project in Horqin.

On a final note, if you're travelling to colder climes, or just want to get durable and comfortable gear for the outdoors, now's a good time to check out what's available at Timberland. From 11th November 2011 to 1st January 2012, Timberland is holding a year-end sale, with discounts up to 50%. In addition, UOB Cardholders and Timberland Green Class VIPs get an additional 10% off, and Timberland Gold Class VIPs get a further additional 15% off! And just in time for Christmas shopping.

My Nuffnang Story

2011-11-17T12:07:00.000+08:00

Where it comes to blogging, it's essential to establish good relationships with people. Bloggers inevitably tend to form communities, reaching out and building friendships with not just readers, but also with fellow bloggers. We are after all highly social animals, and the whole point of blogging is to communicate ideas to an audience that could potentially number in the thousands, if not millions.

I've been a member of Nuffnang for some time; if any of you have taken a look at my sidebar (which I really need to update and manage on a more regular basis), you will notice a small space set aside for ads. While I cannot consider myself someone who actively participates in Nuffnang-related activities, nor am I the sort who goes the extra mile to socialise with other bloggers, I'd like to write a short post about my experiences with Nuffnang, from the perspective of a nature blogger.

I appreciate how Nuffnang has made sure that the ads it selects aren't too distracting, and that blogs who work with them aren't swamped with popups that activate one's spyware filters, or rollover ads that screw up the overall layout of the site. I'm sure that grabbing the attention of readers with such ads simply doesn't justify causing so much annoyance and irritation.

I'll admit, most of the contests and ad campaigns offered to Nuffnang affiliates aren't always relevant to the content of this blog. Even if the prizes are attractive, they usually involve writing posts about something that is beyond the scope I have defined for this site. I mean, as far as the local and regional blogospheres are concerned, there are so many other bloggers out there who are infinitely more qualified to write about subjects like beauty, food, fashion, gadgets, and so on. Just like how you won't expect a food blogger to comment about the European debt crisis, or a fashion blogger to write a very detailed post about the merits of Android phones over the iPhone, so I don't clutter my blog with pretensions of being a connoisseur of good food or a witty film critic.

While I did go through a phase in my earlier years as a lifestyle blogger who wrote extensively about any topic that interested me, I eventually saw the need to specialise and focus on a particular area where I can excel. True, I could actively and aggressively participate in every other product endorsement opportunity or contest that comes my way; it is after all my blog, and I have the final say as to what I choose to post, but that would mean compromising my principles and losing sight of the reason why I decided to set up a nature blog in the first place. And to be honest, lifestyle bloggers who write about all sorts of things are a dime a dozen, and it takes a truly exceptional person to rise above the competition. I feel that if you want to attract the attention of readers and to be remembered, it's best to find a subject you are knowledgeable in and focus on it. It's also good to stay humble, and to never rest on your laurels; you must always seek to improve and hone your skills. Whoever said blogging was easy?

These days, the Singaporean blogosphere tends to be made up of discrete little communities, each focusing on a specific topic. For instance, if you look at the list of finalists for the Singapore Blog Awards, you have different sites labelled as food, tech, travel, photography, family, fashion, and beauty blogs. These same categories are adopted by most contests, and the upcoming Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards follows a similar system of classification.

Unfortunately, just like the Singapore Blog Awards, the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards do not offer any category that best suits a nature or environment-themed blog. Sure, there is the Best Geek Blog category, considering that many of us nature bloggers are extremely knowledgeable about wildlife and environmental issues, but it looks like it's geared more towards video games, technology, or gadgets, subjects that we'd normally associate with the word 'geek'. Some of us certainly qualify for the Best Photography Blog, but given that there usually isn't much discussion on equipment and the technical aspects of photography, and we don't really focus on capturing the abstract and artistic, I can understand why nature photographers may get passed over in favour of other nominees. We do travel to some rather exotic corners of Singapore, so we could fall under the Best Travel Blog category, though no crossing of international borders is involved. A case could be made for having nature blogs represented by the Best Lifestyle Blog, or Hidden Gem categories, but the definitions are so broad that it's easy to be lost in a flood of nominees.

What many people often don't realise is that Singapore has a growing nature blogging community, one that gets a fair bit of attention from science and nature bloggers overseas. Take for instance this 2-part feature on the global Nature Blog Network, that highlighted some notable Singaporean nature blogs. 12 blogs were mentioned (including this one), but these are just a small proportion of a growing number of blogs that focus on nature and the environment in Singapore. Indeed, for such a small country, we have a lot of nature blogs out there, covering so many different aspects of our natural heritage, from butterflies and birds to marine life, so much so that we've been referred to as a 'nature blogging juggernaut'. I'm sure that other countries throughout the Asia-Pacific have their own little communities of nature bloggers too.

Personally, I think it's time we nature bloggers received more recognition and attention, not so much for the sake of getting product endorsements or to feed our egos, but more in the sense of reaching out to more Singaporeans, who are often still ignorant and unaware of the natural treasures that Singapore still possesses. Being 'green' is the buzzword these days, and there is much talk about issues such as sustainability, clean energy, climate change, and loss of biodiversity, but it is difficult to engage people and get them to strive towards being more environmentally conscious if they don't have an appreciation for Singapore's natural treasures in the first place. Many people express incredulity, surprise or disbelief when we talk about trying to protect Singapore's coral reefs, or our last few patches of rainforest, and while blogging has been an invaluable platform in raising awareness, we could always do with some publicity to boost our efforts at outreach and education.

(Photo by Timberland Singapore)

Having said that, I appreciate how Nuffnang opens doors for many bloggers, calling attention to previously unknown gems and giving them opportunities to reach a wider audience and collaborate with businesses. For instance, even though there aren't many campaigns suitable for nature bloggers, there was one that seemed perfect: a blogging competition in collaboration with Timberland Singapore, and the chance to travel to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan as part of the Timberland Earthkeepers. I decided to participate, won, and had a really memorable experience that really counts as one of the highlights of my life so far. And for that, I'm really grateful to Nuffnang for having worked with Timberland Singapore to organise the competition. There is a lot of potential for nature bloggers to be involved in future campaigns, and I'm sure that Nuffnang will continue to work with clients to create such opportunities.

(Photo by Jervis Mun)

(Photo by Timberland Singapore)

Come 16th of December, 500 bloggers from all over the Asia-Pacific will gather at the Putrajaya Marriott in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards. This event, which is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott, aims to not only recognise the efforts of the region's best bloggers, with winners decided by fellow bloggers and readers, but also intends to bring together blogger communities from across the Asia-Pacific. Indeed, it will be an excellent opportunity to network and potentially make more friends, to link up with bloggers of all stripes, and to build more relationships at the international level.

Kudos to Nuffnang for holding this event, and I'm sure many bloggers throughout the region are excited to have the opportunity to attend. And as new bonds are forged, who knows what future developments lie in store for the blogosphere.

The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

2011-11-15T23:45:00.000+08:00

Male adult midge, Sungei Buloh;
(Photo by Marcus)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.'" And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

- Exodus 8: 20-24

Midge swarm, Utah;
(Photo by AMICHAELMURRAY)

In the previous post, I discussed some aspects of the biology and ecology of the Chironomidae, also known as non-biting midges. I briefly mentioned the tendency of many midge species to form huge swarms, which can have negative effects on human communities in the vicinity. This post will look at one such swarming event in Singapore.

Bedok Reservoir;
(Photo by masact)

With 6 corpses and 2 near-drownings recorded from its waters in recent months, Bedok Reservoir has been appearing quite often in the news, and has gained a particularly gruesome reputation. However, earlier this year, it made the news for a very different reason.

In January, large numbers of midges invaded neighbourhoods around Bedok Reservoir, severely affecting homes and businesses. The swarms continued to plague residents for a few weeks, and cleared up only after fogging and the application of biodegradable insecticides.

In the latest update of Nature in Singapore, my colleagues Lin Yijun and Adam Quek have published a paper on the mass emergence of chironomids in Bedok Reservoir, with some discussion of how people are affected by these massive midge orgies. This paper also represents the first ever documentation of a chironomid mass emergence event in Singapore; such swarms have appeared before, not only at Bedok but also at other reservoirs around Singapore, but information has been mostly anecdotal so far.

The authors visited the Bedok Reservoir area in late January, and managed to collect specimens of adult midges for identification. They were able to identify the species responsible for the swarms as a member of the subfamily Chironominae, but because there are no species identification keys for adult chironomids in Singapore or the entire region for that matter, it was difficult to narrow it down further to the species level.

This is one of the midges that was seen at Bedok Reservoir. The feathery antennae indicate that it is a male;
(Photo by zh3nG 正)

Left: Adult male Chironominae collected from Bedok Reservoir, length from tip of antennae to tip of abdomen = 2.4 mm;
Right: Adult female Chironominae collected from Bedok Reservoir, length from tip of antennae to tip of abdomen = 2.54 mm;
(Photos from Lin & Quek, 2011)

Pupal exuviae (cast skins left behind as the adults emerged) were found floating in the water of the reservoir, indicating a high possibility of mass emergence. At the time of observation, a strong wind was blowing predominantly from the north-east which could explain the aggregation of pupal exuviae at the southern and south-eastern shores of the reservoir. Spider webs on the floating pontoons in the reservoir were covered in vast numbers of dead midges. I'm sure the spiders fed very well that month.

Spider web covered in dead midges, Bedok Reservoir;
(Photo from Lin & Quek, 2011)

More photos of dead chironomids ensnared in spider webs at Bedok Reservoir;
(Photos by zh3nG 正)

Flocks of small birds, possibly swallows (F. Hirundinidae) and swiftlets (F. Apodidae), were also seen circling in the sky above, presumably feeding on the swarming midges.

2 common urban birds that would have benefited from the boom in midge numbers.
Left: Pacific swallow (Hirundo tahitica);
Right: Edible-nest swiftlet (Collocalia fuciphaga);
(Photos by kampang)

As stated in the news articles, unsightly accumulations of dead midges were found everywhere.

(Photos by zh3nG 正)

What caused the swarms?

Yijun and Adam surmise that this mass emergence of chironomids is a natural phenomenon, albeit one that might have been triggered by some unknown environmental cues. Being able to predict when future swarms are likely to emerge, and taking precautionary measures to reduce the impact on nearby communities, will depend on whether we are able to determine what cues exist to encourage midges to synchronise their emergence and swarm in such terrifying numbers.

One possible cause that Yijun and Adam suggested is the fact that Bedok Reservoir is home to many non-native fish species. Unlike many of our other reservoirs, Bedok Reservoir was created out of a sand quarry in 1981. Hence any fishes within are the result of human introductions. In a study of 15 Singaporean reservoirs, 54 alien fish species were recorded from 14 of the 15 studied reservoirs, and 31 of these non-native species were found to be established and breeding. Perhaps smaller fishes that ordinarily prey on chironomid larvae in Bedok Reservoir suffered a population crash as a result of large predatory fishes being released into the reservoir.

A selection of non-native predatory fishes that have been recorded from Bedok Reservoir.
Top Left: Orinoco peacock bass (Cichla orinocensis) (Photo by xander13);
Top Right: Tucunare peacock bass (Cichla monoculus) (Photo by Pseudotropheus (Drew));
Centre Left: Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) (Photo by pistolseven);
Centre Right: Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus) (Photo by captchaos);
Bottom Left: Giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes) (Photo by Fringer);
Bottom Right: African walking catfish (Clarias gariepinus) (Photo by mudiaga);

You can take a look at this Flickr photo set by an angler who regularly goes to Bedok Reservoir, and takes photos of the fishes he manages to land. His sampling method may be skewed more towards catching certain kinds of fish, but it seems like there's a lot of peacock bass in the reservoir.

The presence of all these large predators probably has some impact on the other fish species present in the reservoir, including those that may prey heavily on chironomid larvae. Many of the fish species present in Bedok Reservoir will also presumably feed on aquatic invertebrates, some of which might be predators of chironomid larvae themselves, such as diving beetles and dragonfly nymphs. This removal of other organisms that serve as predators or competitors might then inadvertently lead to a boom in the numbers of chironomids, with more larvae surviving to adulthood. This could create a positive feedback loop, with chironomids eventually becoming so overwhelmingly abundant that the fishes and other predators are simply swamped and are unable to make any real dent in prey numbers, no matter how many larvae they eat.

Predatory aquatic invertebrates known to feed on chironomid larvae.
Left: Dragonfly nymph; (Photo by Keith Willits Photo)
Right: Diving beetle larva; (Photo by Neil Phillips)

However, all this is just speculation, since without any real idea of the population trends of the various fish and invertebrate species in the reservoir, there is no way to test this hypothesis. We may never find out which factors helped create the midge swarms of January 2011.

Yijun and Adam note that part of the problem lies with the fact that areas near water bodies are favoured by property developers, to be used for housing or commercial purposes. At the same time, these are areas where chironomids will occur in large numbers and exhibit mass emergence behaviour. Hence, with housing estates sprouting around Bedok Reservoir since its creation in the 1980s, such conflict between people and the midges was bound to occur sooner or later.

Despite the inconveniences and problems that result from mass emergence of midges, it is important to understand the important roles they play in freshwater ecosystems. Not only are they food for a wide variety of animals, both as larvae and as adults, they can also be used as biological indicators in assessments of water quality and for environmental monitoring.

While midge swarms around the world have been controlled largely through the use of chemicals, such as fogging to kill adult midges, and larvicides to control the numbers of larvae, there are other possible strategies. Understanding how physical and chemical parameters in the water may influence chironomid populations across space and time, and then manipulating the environment so as to reduce the number of larvae reaching maturity might prove to be far more effective instead.

The paper ends off by reiterating the fact that we still know so little about chironomids in the region, and so much more needs to be done to understand the ecology, biology, and behaviour of midges.

So while people are wondering if there's something evil lurking in Bedok Reservoir that draws people to die there, I for one am far more concerned about the midges. We're approaching the one year mark since the swarms began. Will the plague of midges become an annual event? Or was it a one-off occurrence, something that happened when all the environmental conditions were perfect? Are other reservoirs in Singapore also at risk of experiencing swarming events on a similar scale, and if so, which neighbourhoods should we warn?

Bedok Reservoir;
(Photo by vinnewage)

There are so many questions waiting to be answered, and right now, we don't quite have the answers yet. Rainforests and coral reefs may get all the attention, but it's about time more people, scientists and laymen alike, took notice of what's going on in tropical freshwater environments.

Bedok Reservoir;
(Photo by Fred @ SG)

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on the Chironomidae, or non-biting midges.

The Chironomids Part I: Marvellous Midges
The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges (this post)

The Chironomids Part I: Marvellous Midges

2011-11-14T22:06:00.001+08:00

(Photo by zh3nG 正)

Most of us are familiar with mosquitoes, and public service messages constantly remind us of the fact that there are commensal species which breed in stagnant water in and around our homes. In one aspect of their life cycle, mosquitoes (F. Culicidae) are not unique; numerous other species of flies have aquatic larvae, and the adults are often referred to as midges. One family in particular, commonly known as the chironomids or non-biting midges (F. Chironomidae), is well-represented throughout the world.

Here's the life cycle of a typical chironomid.

(Image from Environmental Changes at Port au Choix as Reconstructed from Fossil Midges)

Larvae

The bulk of a midge's life is spent as a larva, and so I'll focus a lot on this stage in the life cycle. Besides, I often deal with chironomid larvae in my current field of work.

Hre's a diagram to help you make sense of the general external anatomy of a chironomid larva.

(Image from Biota of Foundry and South Coves)

Chironomid larvae are often referred to as bloodworms, due to the presence of haemoglobin in many species, which gives them a reddish coloration.

(Photo by North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)

This makes it easier to absorb oxygen from their surroundings, enabling them to survive in oxygen-poor environments that would kill other aquatic invertebrates.

(Photo by venwu225)

(Photo by JFCART)

However, they seem to lose the bright red colours once they're preserved in alcohol, and eventually turn green. This change in colour, combined with their tiny size, can make sorting of samples an extremely challenging task, especially if the bloodworms are entangled amongst tufts of algae.

(Photo by river.relief)

(Photo by henricksrobert)

(Photo by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory)

However, not all chironomid species possess haemoglobin in the first place. These tend to be greenish, even when alive.

(Photo by Neil Phillips)

These macro shots are really quite impressive, since bloodworms are actually quite tiny creatures. The following photos help to illustrate this point.

(Photo by tantramarwetlands)

(Photo by Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory)

(Photo by piscator_4)

Habitats and Habits

The vast majority of midges have larvae that develop in freshwater, but there exists a wide variety of habitat preferences. Flowing water is preferred by a number of species, while others thrive in the still waters of ponds, lakes, and swamps. Some are specialised to live in thin films of water a few millimetres thick, such as those along the banks of streams or the shores of lakes, or near waterfalls or rapids, where the rocks are perpetually wet. Small amounts of water that accumulate in leaf axils may become home to chironomid larvae, and some live exclusively inside the pitfall traps of pitcher plants, where they somehow manage to avoid being digested.

Chironomid larvae spend most of their time on the bottom, where different species are adapted to feed in different ways, ranging from those that gather organic material and detritus from the sediments, to filter-feeders that cast a small net made from saliva to trap plankton and suspended particles from the water. Other species scrape algae from the surface of rocks and debris, or use their jaws to chew aquatic plants, wood, algae or leaf litter. Some larvae are predatory, engulfing planktonic crustaceans or piercing and sucking out the fluids of annelid worms, or other aquatic insects, including smaller chironomids.

Head of a chironomid larva;
(Photo by Specious Reasons)

Although larvae can actively swim in the water, they spend most of their time either crawling about on the bottom, or hanging by their tails from hard surfaces.

(Photo by Neil Phillips)

Many species construct a tube out of saliva and sediment, for added protection against predators. Others burrow and tunnel into wood and plants.

(Photo by debunix)

Pupa and Adulthood

The pupa has a bizarre, almost alien appearance.

(Photo by Wontolla65)

The white tufts near what passes for the 'head' of the pupa are the thoracic horns. These function like gills in absorbing oxygen, which is required in large quantities for metamorphosis to occur.

(Photo by Darren Post)

Unlike the pupae of other insects such as butterflies, those of chironomids are highly motile, and can swim. This is especially apparent when the midge is ready to progress to the next stage in its life cycle; the pupa swims all the way from the bottom to the water surface, where the skin splits, revealing the wispy winged adult.

Pupa just before eclosion (adult emergence);
(Photo by servitude)

Adult midge emerging from pupa;
(Photo by CurlyToes)

As their common name (non-biting midge) indicates, chironomids, unlike mosquitoes and several other families of flies, are not bloodsuckers. It is commonly thought that these midges do not feed as adults; however, feeding has been recorded for many species, and feeding behaviour may be more prevalent amongst adult chironomids than we think. Among the natural substances consumed include nectar, pollen, honeydew (the sugar-rich liquid secreted by aphids and other sap-sucking insects), and even fresh fly droppings!

(Photo by giubit)

(Photo by entomopixel)

Midge Larvae are Hardcore

The midges possibly have the widest distribution of any insect family, and have an extremely high diversity of species. Many of them have evolved to survive in the most challenging environments, and their larvae can be found in quite extreme habitats.

For instance, there are some whose larvae are specialised to live in streams fed by glacial meltwater, where the water temperature remains just above freezing. Here they feed on organic particles released from the ice as it melts, or on the cyanobacteria that manage to colonise these channels. Other species living in temperate climates are tolerant of subzero temperatures, and can even survive being frozen. At the other extreme, some chironomid species have been recorded from hot springs, where the water temperature exceeds 40°C. A species of midge (Sergentia koschowi) has been found in the ooze at the bottom of Lake Baikal in Russia, at a depth of 1,360 metres.

Many species of chironomids living in arid regions have larvae capable of surviving drought and the disappearance of the temporary pools they live in, entering a state of suspended animation until the rains return. One African species in particular, known as the sleeping chironomid (Polypedilum vanderplanki), lives in depressions on rocks that fill up after the rain to form puddles, and has become notable for its ability to survive all sorts of extremes in its dormant state. When dessicated, they can survive temperatures from -270°C to 102°C, and even exposure to very high levels of gamma radiation, resuming activity and successfully undergoing metamorphosis after immersion in water. Dessicated larvae have even survived after spending more than a year in outer space. In the laboratory, it has been demonstrated that the larvae of this species can survive at least 10 cycles of dehydration and rehydration, with the record of one larva being revived after being stored in dry sediment for 17 years! It's not surprising that the sleeping chironomid is used as a model organism for astrobiological research.

Dessication-rehydration cycle of the sleeping chironomid;
(Diagram from Identification of Anhydrobiosis-related Genes from an Expressed Sequence Tag Database in the Cryptobiotic Midge Polypedilum vanderplanki (Diptera; Chironomidae))

The larvae of some species are fully terrestrial, living in soil and damp vegetation. One species (Camptocladius stercorarius) is a specialist, living exclusively in cow dung. Another species (Eretmoptera murphyi) has larvae that live in damp moss and peat. This particular species is unique, in that it lives on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, a place inhabited by few other insects. The adult stage has only very rudimentary wings, and so these midges are flightless.

(Photo by Roger S Key)

Another flightless midge species (Belgica antarctica) is found even further south, on Antarctica itself. On the frozen continent, it is not only Antarctica's only insect species, but also its largest fully terrestrial animal, even though it grows to 6 millimetres at most (Penguins and seals are of course much larger, but they spend much of their time at sea).

Mating pair of Antarctic midges;
(Photo by Tasteofcrayons, from Wikipedia)

It too has terrestrial larvae, which live amongst algae, in mosses, and in the soil around the roots of grasses. The larvae may also be attracted to the nutrient-enriched soil associated with nests and breeding colonies of penguins, seabirds and seals. They can survive freezing and dehydration, and immersion in freshwater (melting ice) or saltwater (sea spray from storms), useful adaptations in such a hostile environment. The larvae of the Antarctic midge can even live without oxygen for up to a month, which comes in handy when you're encased in ice or buried in penguin guano full of bacteria that deplete all the available oxygen.

Larvae of Antarctic midge. The dark coloration might help to maximise absorption of the sun's heat, as well as provide protection against ultraviolet radiation;
(Photo from Studying Belgica at the Bottom of the World)

Another account of chironomids' ability to survive extreme environmental conditions comes from reports of live larvae of a particular species (Chironomus salinarius) being discovered in fresh droppings of the black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), having presumably been eaten by the birds and passed through the digestive system alive. It's not exactly adapting to a particular habitat, and only a small minority of bloodworms found in the faeces were alive, but it does illustrate just how tough the larvae of some species can be in withstanding otherwise deadly surroundings.

Maritime Midges

Most insects do not live in marine environments, but once again, the chironomids prove to be exceptional. The larvae of many species are capable of developing in highly saline waters, while others actually grow on rocky shores in the intertidal zone. However, the marine midges (Pontomyia spp.) can be considered to be fully marine insects, though they are restricted to tropical and subtropical coastal areas in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. They have also been recorded in Singapore. As larvae, they inhabit tidal pools and lagoons, living in sand, seagrass and algae beds, and even amongst coral rubble on reefs up to depths of 30 metres. They've even been found in tufts of algae growing on the shells of sea turtles!

Once metamorphosis is complete, the pupae float up to the surface. Eclosion is synchronised, and might be influenced by the tides, the time of sunset, and the phases of the moon; one species (Pontomyia oceana) appears only around the new moon or full moon. As dusk falls, the males emerge en masse, and their presence somehow triggers the emergence of the females an hour later. The urge to reproduce is so strong that some males will even attempt to mate with a female before she can fully emerge from the pupal skin.

The adults are unique in their own way; the females lack mouthparts, wings, antennae, and possess only 2 pairs of legs, which are little more than stumps. The males too lack mouthparts, and their wings are too small to enable them to fly. However, by fluttering their wings rapidly, the males can still skate across the surface of the water, with the extremely long first pair of legs functioning as 'outriggers' to help maintain balance.

Adult male marine midges, Pulau Tekukor;
(Photo by James)

Once the male has found a female, copulation takes place rear to rear, with him dragging her along as he continues to skitter on the water. Once mating is finished, he drops her, and he may go off in search of another female. Soon after, the female lays a sticky string of eggs, which sink and adhere to pieces of coral or other hard surfaces. The female then dies after laying her clutch of eggs, with the males, eventually spent, dying as well. The entire orgy, from emergence to mating to death, lasts 1-2 hours at most, a ridiculously short adult lifespan by any measure. No wonder the adult marine midges don't need mouthparts at all, since they don't even have time to feed!

Adult male marine midge, Pulau Subar Laut (Big Sister's Island);
(Photo by James)

Midge Munchies

Because they can be very abundant in aquatic habitats, chironomid larvae and pupae are important prey for many species, from other invertebrates such as water beetles and dragonfly nymphs, to fishes, amphibians, and birds.

Pied wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) with bloodworm;
(Photo by Andyincheshire)

Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea cinerea) with bloodworm;
(Photo by Alshappy 1)

As adults, chironomids may be fed upon by other insects, spiders, frogs, birds, and bats.

Jumping spider (F. Salticidae) feeding on midge;
(Photo by J. Coelho)

The predator-prey relationship between fishes and midges has been exploited by anglers, who create artificial lures to tempt salmon and trout (among other species) to take a bite of what appears to be a chironomid larva, pupa, or a newly-emerged adult floating on the water.

This lure is known as the LiquidLace-Bloodworm;
(Photo by 'Scratch')

In Europe, carp ponds are sometimes deliberately enriched with farmyard manure to stimulate the growth of chironomid larvae, which in turn provide a source of natural food for the fish. In Hong Kong, chironomids are even actively farmed: a field is specially set aside and a layer of chicken manure is spread onto it, before it is turned into a pond. Adult midges soon lay their eggs in the water, and the pond eventually becomes filled with bloodworms. These are then harvested and used as fish food.

Bloodworms are highly prized by aquarists, who use them as live food for their pets. Since live bloodworms are not always available, there are also frozen and freeze-dried options.

(Photo by Ninja T. Penguin)

Panda corydoras (Corydoras panda) with bloodworm;
(Photo by Azaezl)

Turtles (F. Emydidae) feeding on bloodworms;
(Photo by DrChino)

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) with bloodworms;
(Photo by sour_bunny)

African dwarf frog (Hymenochirus sp.) with bloodworms;
(Photo by cathleenarnerich)

Indicators

Midges are a very important component of the aquatic biota, and anyone studying freshwater ecology cannot afford to ignore them. Where eutrophication occurs due to high nutrient levels as a result of sewage or fertiliser runoff, the dissolved oxygen content of the water may be abysmally low, creating a habitat that is inhospitable to all but the hardiest of aquatic organisms. More often than not, chironomids are not only able to survive in such heavily polluted water, they manage to flourish, thanks to the haemoglobin found in the larvae of many species. They soon end up dominating these water bodies in terms of sheer numbers. Even sewage pools may be colonised by those species adapted to living under such challenging conditions.

Because chironomids are so abundant, and because one often finds multiple species coexisting in the same water body, they can fulfill an important function as biological indicators of water quality. Each species may have its own degree of tolerance to specific water quality parameters; for instance, some species may be more sensitive to changes in the levels of dissolved oxygen, organic matter, pH or heavy metals. And even though we have seen how some species can be tolerant of extremes, most chironomids have an optimal set of environmental conditions under which they can develop. If something happens to alter those conditions, for instance a chemical spill, only those capable of tolerating the new surroundings will survive. Hence, by sampling and examining the numbers and diversity of chironomids, one can monitor changes in the environment, and find evidence for deterioration or improvement in the habitat.

The Swarm

I mentioned earlier on that adult midges do not feed on blood, but aren't necessarily completely harmless to humans.

For many chironomid species, the adults in an area all emerge simultaneously. Then, as if triggered by an unseen cue, the males all take off and congregate in a particular location, forming a swarm. It does not take long before the females see the swarm and join in, and mating takes place in the air. From a distance, this hub of activity may look like a plume of smoke rising from the water.

(Photo by Deborah~)

(Photo by Bruce Bolin)

(Photo by kuddlyteddybear2004)

These mating swarms can have severe negative consequences for people in the vicinity. The clouds of midges make it difficult to stay outside without inadvertently inhaling them, or having lots of tiny insects flying into your mouth, eyes, and ears. Visibility can be poor, making driving through a swarm a very dangerous prospect. Where the aggregations of midges land to rest, their faeces may stain buildings so badly that repainting is necessary. Many chironomid species emerge and swarm at dusk, and are attracted to sources of light. As a result, swarms will enter homes, contaminating food, staining the walls, and making life generally very uncomfortable for the residents.

(Photo by AMICHAELMURRAY)

The midges die in their millions, and their bodies accumulate everywhere, requiring frequent cleaning to get rid of the unsightly piles. They clog up machinery, such as sensitive aviation equipment and air-conditioning units, and the body fragments may stick to car paint, damaging the paintwork. The dead midges themselves give off a foul stench which may persist for several days, even after the bodies have been cleared.

(Photo by zh3nG 正)

To make matters worse, chironomids may trigger allergic reactions in some people.

Information about chironomids is available in most guides on freshwater life, but where it comes to detailed information about the family as a whole, there is no better resource than The Chironomidae: The Biology and Ecology of Non-Biting Midges.

Coming up in the next post, we'll be taking a look at one particular midge swarming event that took place earlier this year, one that's particularly interesting because it occurred in a place that's been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons: Bedok Reservoir.

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on the Chironomidae, or non-biting midges.

The Chironomids Part I: Marvellous Midges (this post)
The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

Wild boar... in Tampines?

2011-10-19T23:20:00.000+08:00

"He's dead, that's what's wrong with it!" "No, no, he's uh... he's resting."
Wild boar resting beneath diesel tank, Tampines;
(Photo from Channel 8 news Facebook page)

As a longtime resident of Tampines, I pay very close attention to sightings of wildlife in this part of Singapore. True, we may not be very close to the forests of the Central Nature Reserves, and most of our parks are little manicured gardens nestled amongst the HDB blocks, but we do have much larger patches of vegetation. While these areas are little more than wasteland composed of a mixture of fire-tolerant woodland, scrub and grassland (wildfires are not uncommon occurrences during the drier months), they provide habitats for many species. One such pocket of greenery was recently converted into the Tampines Eco Green.

Still, the thought of a wild boar (Sus scrofa) living here was a big surprise for me.

It appears that a television news crew was investigating reports of a wild boar that was apparently lurking in the area, only for the chase to end in the discovery of an illegal fuel station. In fact, the wild boar in question was found resting beneath a diesel tank.

Here's a couple of news reports discussing the find. A darn shame that the wild boar appeared right at the start, and then became completely irrelevant as the focus of the story shifted to the illegal fuel station.

Based on what my friends tell me, I'm led to believe that the relevant segment from Mandarin-language Channel 8 news (which I still cannot track down) was a lot more interesting and amusing from a human perspective (considering that the people manning the fuel station were very uncomfortable at being filmed), and the wild boar received quite a bit more airtime.

Where did it come from?

It's unfortunate that the wild boar got sidelined, because I'm personally way more interested in how a wild boar might have ended up in Tampines. Although populations of wild boar have become established in the Western and Central Catchment Areas, records from the eastern side of mainland Singapore are sparse. There are some sightings of individuals from Changi and Seletar East Camp, as well as another recent sighting of an individual at the Lorong Halus Wetland.

Wild boar at Lorong Halus Wetland;
(Photo by NatureInYourBackyard)

Tampines Avenue 10 is somewhat close to the Lorong Halus Wetland, and I'm wondering if these sightings actually involve the same individual. It also helps that the Lorong Halus wild boar also seemed to be quite tame and unafraid of people. I haven't been able to find out if it's still hanging around that area though, and there aren't enough photos to gauge if the Lorong Halus boar looks similar enough to the Tampines wild boar.

Even if it turns out that 2 separate individuals are involved, one at Lorong Halus and one at Tampines, that leaves the question as to where the Tampines wild boar came from. Like the one at Lorong Halus, I would think that it's most likely to have swam over from Pulau Ubin. We all know that Pulau Ubin is currently a stronghold for this species, and not many people are aware that pigs are excellent swimmers.

There's a population of feral pigs in the Bahamas that have a habit of swimming out to sea to greet people in boats and beg for food.

Still, if the Tampines wild boar swam over from Pulau Ubin, I wonder why it wandered so far inland, instead of making itself at home along the coast at Pasir Ris. And I'm also wondering if anyone has ever encountered wild boar in Pasir Ris, but thought he was hallucinating or that no one would believe him; imagine a wild boar passing through a Pasir Ris neighbourhood in the wee hours of the morning as it searches for a suitable home.

It's unknown if the illegal fuel station has been around for a long time, but I guess the wild boar was eventually attracted by the prospect of scavenging leftovers, or people started deliberately feeding it. Over the years, the result is a habituated wild boar, completely used to the presence of people, and tame enough to take an afternoon nap beneath a fuel tank. In many ways, it's an echo of how wild boar were first tamed and then domesticated thousands of years ago, giving rise to the many breeds of domestic pigs we see today.

Of course, another possible scenario is that someone smuggled in a pet boar and allowed it to run loose. We may never know for sure.

Rescued from an eagle?

An interesting bit of trivia popped up on the Channel 8 news Facebook page:

山猪小趣闻：在淡滨尼发现的山猪，小时候差点被老鹰叼走，幸好有人及时按车喇叭，结果吓到老鹰便把手一松，小山猪才保住了命。听说当时的小山猪只有4、5公斤，现在已有80公斤，老鹰不再可怕！

Here's a loose translation: When the Tampines wild boar was much younger, it was nearly carried off by an eagle. Fortunately, someone witnessed it and pressed his car horn just in time, scaring the eagle and causing it to let go, and saving the boar's life. At that time, the wild boar probably weighed just 4 or 5 kilograms. Now it weighs around 80 kilograms, and so doesn't have to be afraid of eagles anymore.

It certainly is a very interesting snippet of information; the diet of many Southeast Asian raptors is not very well-studied, and definitive records of local birds of prey taking such large prey are probably rare, if not nonexistent.

It would take a large raptor to target a piglet of that size; both golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in North America and wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) in Australia will target piglets, whether it's feral or domestic hogs. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Papuan eagle (Harpyopsis novaeguineae) are also known to prey on piglets. The ability of eagles to kill and carry off large prey should never be underestimated; in many cases, even if prey is too large for the bird of prey to fly off with it, it may simply be consumed on the spot, or torn into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) with warthog piglet (Phacochoerus africanus), Kenya;
(Photo by ThomasChamberlin)

In Singapore, the most likely candidate would be the white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), our largest bird of prey, although I'm not sure if this species is known to go after such large mammalian prey.

White-bellied sea eagle with frog, Bukit Panjang;
(Photo by kampang)

Another local raptor, the changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), might not be large or powerful enough to fly off with a piglet in its talons, but might still be capable of killing one; there is a record from Japan of a female mountain hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) bringing a wild piglet back to its nest.

Changeable hawk-eagle, Sime Forest;
(Photo by Lip Kee)

Best not to wander too far from Mom, you never know what might fall from the sky...
Sow and piglet, Chek Jawa;
(Photo by Marcus)

Fate of the Tampines wild boar?

One final question that came to mind is with regards to the fate of this tame boar. I suppose that even if the authorities don't conduct a raid and shut down this illegal fuel station soon enough, the people behind this may decide to pack up and seek other secluded areas to resume business, and leave the wild boar behind.

While I'm sure it would still be capable of finding food in the surrounding woodland and scrub, my guess is that in such a scenario, it might be driven to seek out other people, and venture closer to the nearby residential areas. This presents the risk of it coming into conflict with other people, whether it's by scavenging for trash, harassing people into giving it food, or crossing the road and getting involved in a traffic accident. I'm not sure if people would be comfortable with having a wild boar that's so fearless and brazen around humans, even if it means no harm at all; after all, the news crew were apparently informed about the wild boar in the first place through a caller who complained about it.

Another possibility is that poachers, now that they have discovered the whereabouts of this wild boar, may take advantage of its trust of people for nefarious purposes. Why set traps in the forest when you have a wild boar that would probably walk right up to you and ask to be fed?

I fear that the authorities may decide to take the easy way out and have this wild boar euthanised, which in my honest opinion, would be a real shame. Yes, feeding wildlife is usually not a good idea, and an animal as large as a wild boar definitely poses some risk to human safety, but I think this boar may be tame enough to be brought into captivity and kept somewhere, much like how one of the residents of Pulau Ubin had a pet wild boar named Jack. It would be excellent if the Tampines wild boar could be relocated somewhere far from people, where it can find its own food and has less chance of becoming a nuisance. Maybe it could be allowed to roam freely in one of the larger parks or nature areas, and play a role as an ambassador for its species or its threatened habitats, much like how Priscilla was a mascot for Chek Jawa.

Priscilla accompanying visitors to the shore, Chek Jawa;
(Photo by Ria)

Even though this individual seems to be the only wild boar living in Tampines at the moment, I won't be surprised if sooner or later, we have more reports of wild boar living in these patches of vegetation. I don't think people are really quite ready to have wild boar in our midst, but it seems like an undeniable fact that the wild boar are truly making a comeback. Whether we are able to coexist with them will depend greatly on our ability to reduce the likelihood of conflict, not just by managing their numbers, but also by managing how we behave towards wildlife in general.