Sarawak, formerly known as Sarawak, is also known in Malay as "Bumi Kenyalang"; located in the northwest of Borneo, it is the largest state in Malaysia, and Sabah is the two administrative regions of Malaysia on the territory of Borneo. The capital is Kuching, the economic and political center of the state. In the past two decades, the demand for logging and palm oil gardens has made sarawak's original rainforest loss rate the highest in the world. ”
Written| by Peter Petersen (https://amazonas.dk/)
Translated | Flair Wang
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Sarawak, Borneo Expedition Part 1
05
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<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Niah National Park</h3>
Sungai Niah is a river that you must cross to reach the amazing giant Niah Cave
Lychas hosei eating a cricket (cave cricket)
Front view of Nepenthes bicalcarata. At the edge of the bottle opening, you can see some lines called ribs. There are two rows of spines down the bottle called wings.
Rear view of Nepenthes diocarpus. This species is actually the largest in the genus. It can grow to more than 20 meters tall and the diameter of the stem can reach 3.5 cm
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06
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Lambir Hills National Park</h3>
Clear water streams on the Lambir Hills in Sarawak. The trees of the Lambert National Park have the highest diversity in Borneo. More than 1,175 tree species have been found in 0.52 square kilometers alone
Wildlife photographer – Dan. Olsen documented the actions of Betta akarensis near the Lembel Falls
The underwater scenery of the same habitat in this small pool is home to many interesting freshwater fish and shrimp
Acarian fighting fish male fish in the natural ecological environment
The female Acarian fighting fish was curious and kept following the camera. The water temperature here is 23 °C
This shallow creek hides another interesting species from the area
Another interesting species that we find in large numbers in the Blue Berger is the Rasbora tubbi. This species with large mouthparts appears to feed mainly on fry and insects
A pool formed by a waterfall in the Rambel Mountains
This creek is home to the Four Houses of Borneo (Puntigrus anchisporus). We didn't find anything. In the video below, you can see what we found here
A ant stopped in our rearview mirror. The insect Tettigoniidae, including the Phaneropterinae subfamily, has a total of 85 genera and more than 2,000 species
I couldn't identify the species. It does look like New Zealand native Caedicia simplex, a species that has been landed in Sabah, Borneo, but this may be a misidentification
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Marudi</h3>
Close to the Brunei Darussalam border, a tributary of the Baram river, we were looking for a very special freshwater fish. The habitat may look like this
The species we are looking for should live in the blackwater and clearwater habitats, and our guide plans to take us to a place of great beauty that he has been to many times
Regrettably, this amazing area has been destroyed. Now this habitat is gone. The demand for palm oil is increasing day by day. More and more rainforests are being burned down and land is being used to grow crops. The biodiversity of these plantations is only a small fraction of the organisms in tropical rainforests
The fire suffocated most wild animals. The surface of the water is covered in ashes, which makes it impossible for fish to even breathe air through the surface. I inserted a stick into the stream to disturb the putty on the surface of the water
After the putty dissolves, it clears the surface of the water again, and the fish quickly swim up to breathe. This rainforest is home to be the Betta macrostoma and many other species
On the other side of the road, we found a creek with less ash and silt. The rainforest here is still relatively intact, but it is still near deforestation. Here we can observe and document its habitat and behavior
This male fighting dog fighting fish is very curious about our work. The name: macrostoma means "big mouth", as seen in this photo, very aptly. The water temperature here is 25 °C
07
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Bako National Park, Pugo National Park</h3>
Bago National Park is an important sanctuary for wildlife near Kuching. This area is only 27 square kilometers, but it protects thousands of species of flora and fauna
In Pugo National Park, Varanus salvator in the mangrove forest near Kuching, Sarawak
The water level in the mangroves rises and falls with the tides four times a day. Some fish adapt to this daily routine in amazing ways. There are species of fish that can walk on land
The Boleophthalmus boddarti can grow up to 22 cm. They feed on algae, crustaceans, small insects, worms and eggs from fish and snails
When the water level in the mangrove forest rises, the fish in the sea will enter the submerged woods in search of food
I could only find three types of jellyfish in Sarawak. Lobonema smithii, jellyfish (Rhopilema esculenta) and mastigias papua ( but this is not any of these species. The diameter of this jellyfish is about 70 cm
The male Ibarrom has an elongated dorsal fin that looks like an illusion when courtship boasting. Note that in this black aquatic habitat, the tip of the fluorescent blue fin does not appear to be connected to the rest of the dorsal fin
There are no aquatic weeds in the habitat of this Ibarom fighting fish. We only found watery plants in this river
The Ibarrom Fighting Fish is an interesting species that seems to lurk in these small blackwater streams. In many other fighting fish species, I haven't seen this behavior yet
The Ibarrom fighting fish in this stream is curious. It's almost impossible to keep them from getting too close to the camera
Only a few rays of sunlight penetrated the water. As a result, the habitat of this Ibarrom fighting fish looks almost pitch black from above
Fully grown Ibarrom males are about 10 cm long and seem to be able to accept each other's presence even in very narrow environmental conditions
Sunsets from the Borneo rainforest and views of the Sarawak Cultural Village (Kampung Budaya Sarawak).
The sunset here is breathtaking, and of course, a single photo alone can't fully capture this dreamlike color
As you can see in this photo, if you carry an ultraviolet light, it's easy to spot scorpions. This is the Asian rainforest scorpion (Heterometrus longimanus). One of the largest scorpions in the world. This individual is 15 cm long
There are plenty of mudskippers and hermit crabs on the coastline here, but beware of saltwater crocodiles, one of the only dangerous elements here. The water is very cloudy, so by the time you see it, it may be too late. Be careful!
Borneo has many pit-bearing carnivorous plants (Nepenthes). These traps are formed by specialized leaves that contain digestive juices. This is Nepenthes gracilis.
Like other species, Nepenthes uses nectar to attract and drown their prey. The two photos above can look very different. They are all upper bottles
Closer to the ground are their lower bottles. They look very different. This is the lower bottle of Nepenthes minor. The two types of bottles attract different prey
This is Nepenthes rafflesiana. The largest bottle we observed in this species is about 20 cm long, but it should be more than the unimaginable 35 cm in length and 15 cm wide
The lid of the bottle acts as a roof. Without a lid, the digestive juices evaporate in the sun or be diluted by heavy rain. But the lid can also act as a trap mechanism. When raindrops hit the lid, prey is often catapulted into the bottle. In the picture you can see that N. raffles is extremely variable
08
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Lundu</h3>
This clearwater river is shaded by the rainforest above, and only a few rays of sunlight spill from the canopy
Between these rocks, I found a species I had never seen before
The overall length of the fully mature Macrognathus keithi is less than 25 cm. The fish appear to feed mainly on fry, eggs, insect larvae and worms
09
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Sungai Stunggang</h3>
In this biome, we find the Trichopsis vittata
The big percussion fish seems to be a very strong species. Even though the area is dug up in a mess and the water is full of silt, they still seem to thrive in it, and we find plenty of them
Males build a nest on the surface of the water to hatch their eggs. This way, they can get closer to oxygen-rich water
I prefer underwater photographs, but in some habitats, the clarity of the water is not enough to take underwater photographs. So I brought a small photography tank with a pair of big kowtows in it, set in the original environment
Much of the swamp is covered by the water weed of Hydra verticillata
Young Luna lucius from the same habitat
I can't identify this bee. It rests on a rock by the river
This is the place we visited on this trip
Special thanks to michael Lo, |
Wavy green leafy banyan (Bucephalandra sp. “Wavy green”） (Photo by Dan Olsen)
End of full text.
This article is written by Peter Petersen, translated by Flair Wang, original source: |https://amazonas.dk/index.php/articles/borneo
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