Thursday, February 23, 2006

 

Adult Wagler's Pit Viper spotted by Barnie Leow @ Upp Bukit Timah Rd



Wagler's Pit Viper - spotted in Sea Almond tree along Upp Bt Timah Road. Photo by Barnie Leow. An adult Tropidolaemus wagleri!!! see my earlier posting about the juvenile one which I saw personally.
Comment by kwokwai: " Nice photo u got there. It's probably waiting for birds or fruit bats."


Ref:
Ecology Asia
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/waglers_pit_viper.htm

# posted by Kevin @ 1:33 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

 

Black-bearded Gliding lizard Draco melanopogon @ Sime forest by mphil

More gliding lizards by mphil on 12th Feb 2006! This time its a pair of male and female black-bearded gliding lizards!

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showpost.php?p=1899331&postcount=9

here's an excerpt of his post ".. I am just adding a couple of pics of the black-bearded gliding lizard from Sime Forest. Spent an afternoon looking for them and managed to find a pair of them on a tree. The female is not much to look at but the male looks quite dashing when he flashes his black beard at the female. Pics below are of the handsome one."


# posted by Kevin @ 9:24 PM 1 comments
 

Horn-eyed ghost crab @Siloso Beach Sentosa by Windsor Jr.



Spotted at Siloso Beach, Sentosa on 12th Feb by Windsor Jr. Size is 4.5cm to 5.5cm. My guess is Ghost crab or Ocypode ceratophthalma

Update: Confirmed to be a Ghost crab or specifically Horn-eyed Ghost crab
Quote from Ria "It's quite common and can be seen, sometimes in large numbers on almost all our shores. Even busy and over trampled Changi beach! But only at night."
One more pic here by husky link

Ref:
A Guide to Seashore Life by Dr Leo W H Tan and Peter K L Ng
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/191.htm

Horn-eyed ghost crabs (Ocypode ceratophthalma) on the Shores of Singapore
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildshores/crustacea/crab/ocypodidae/ocyceratophthalma.htm

# posted by Kevin @ 4:17 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 09, 2006

 

Telamonia sp @Sunset way by Kevin


Spider (needs id) @Sunset way by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.
Spotted this small spider at sunset way on 2005 Dec 10th. It clung onto me

rather than me looking for it. I had to laugh when i first saw it cos it

looks like a soccer ball with so many patches. Can hardly see where its real

eyes are. (it must have alot of enemies)

Thanks to Jeremy for helping with the id of this jumping spider!

Ref:

Telamonia elegans
http://www.miiz.waw.pl/salticid/diagnost/telamon/elega-ph.htm

"A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Telamonia_dimidiata.htm

# posted by Kevin @ 2:09 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

 

Tent Spider Cyrtophora moluccensis @ Khatib Bhongsu by Kevin



4th Feb at Khatib Bhongsu. This spider was rather big! Slightly smaller than Nephila sp. but heavy bulging abdomen! The web was big too about 1m! its very hard to miss this spider. It is also called a dome-web spider cos of the 3d mesh of web on top and a dome shaped web below. When i saw it it was upside down on the dome. I can't figure if the web catches prey that fly upwards or falls on the dome.. More info on this spider pending! Tell me in the comments if you know more!

id by Shufen

reference:
Tent Spider - Cyrtophora moluccensis
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_weavers/TentSpiders.htm
A CHECKLIST OF SPillERS FROM SINGAPORE (ARACHNillA: ARANEAE)
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/50/50rbz359-388.pdf

# posted by Kevin @ 2:49 PM 0 comments

Sunday, February 05, 2006

 

Janss's pipefish Doryrhamphus janssi by Zee

New species record for Singapore! Such a pretty fish.... very green with envy
http://thebluetempeh.blogspot.com/2005/10/jong-dive-of-year.html

While you are there you should check out here as well.
http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/

For more of its common names, check out here
http://annual.sp2000.org/2005/Fis-25918-show_species_details.html

# posted by Kevin @ 9:28 PM 0 comments
 

Hantu pics by Yan 27th Nov 05

Haha sorry can't resist the joke. You won't find pics of ghosts (Hantu means ghost in Malay) here. Rather you will find excellent photos of local marina fauna! If you didn't catch the last "Living Treasures" on CNA channel, you have to see these pictures as proof that there is a great deal of marine diversity out there.

http://dolphymanta.multiply.com/photos/album/6

# posted by Kevin @ 5:26 PM 0 comments
 

The Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus by Harlequin

Have you spotted this rare winter visitor lately? Harlequin from clubsnap did and has pictures to show. Have you wondered then about its name? Peregrine is the anglicized version of the latin word peregrinus which means wandering. No prizes for guessing what Falco is. Birds of prey need large areas to hunt and the mountainous regions of Central Asia support populations of these birds. You might think being at the top of the foodchain is easy. But use of illegal pesticides like DDT have diminished populations of birds of prey. Its not easy to see the link: many toxins are accumulative (especially the ones that dissolve in fat), so when you are the top predator you can accumulate a lot of toxins just by feeding normally. When I think about how humans are also a top predator, some how I would feel uneasy as well. In that sense, the degradation of our natural environment are warning signals that something is wrong. I just wish its not too late...

Reference
Biodiversity Hotspots - Mountains of Central Asia - Unique and Threated Biodiversity
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/central_asia/biodiversity.xml

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
http://museum.utep.edu/chih/theland/animals/birds/falcopere.htm

Peregrine Falcon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Falcon

# posted by Kevin @ 5:22 PM 0 comments
 

Gliding Lizards in P.Ubin & Sime Forest by mphil

Check out a new post in clubsnap this time by mphil about gliding lizards! These are really not easy to spot as they are more well camouflaged to tree trunks than the Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor). Personally, I have only seen them in Tioman (Malaysia), and it was only after 10 mins of frustrated pointing by a friend that I just caught a brief glimpse. Similarly, like mphil who had to found them too far away to photograph, in my case the gliding lizard when found scrambles quickly up the trunk and stays very still. Only a digital compact with IS and 10x optical zoom managed to take a shot of it, but definitely not Nat Geog quality lol. Here's mphil's post!

“I have been fascinated by these gliding lizards since I first saw one in a jar in a lab. I have come across some in the wild since then but they were too high up to shoot or I didnt have my gear with me. However, here are 2 that didnt get away. Thanks to the excellent site at Ecology Asia for the ids. Actually they dont fly, but glide down from one tree to another tree - but we all know that!”

#1 Common Gliding Lizard (Draco volans) - From P.Ubin with the "wings" out and waving its characteristic yellow gular flag.


#2 Black-bearded gliding Lizard (Draco melanopogon) - Sime Forest with 'wings' folded.

Reference
Ecology Asia : Lizards of Southeast Asia
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/lizards.htm

# posted by Kevin @ 3:56 PM 0 comments

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

My latest stock photos on Dreamstime Stock Photography Community

hit counter
digital hit counters Visitors since 5/24/05

Click for Singapore, Singapore Forecast