Buffy Fish Owl (highly rare!) by Abdul

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=185547

".... This is the the Fourth sighting of this Buffy Fish Owl which is believed to be extinct on the main island based on Threatened Animals of Singapore-1995....." - Abdul

Darn I wish I could see it in real life too.

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops @ Lower Peirce by Kevin

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops @ Lower Peirce by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Black-eyed Litter Frog Leptobrachium nigrops spotted at Lower Peirce Reservoir. Spotted by Chengpuay actually but too bad he dun have camera that day so I am posting this pic. This nocturnal frog has large jet black eyes, I guess to hunt in the dark. I don't know about average frog leg length but apparently this guy has rather short legs and can't hop around very well. Funny right? There's more "When disturbed it will assume a low crouch rather than attempt to flee." Hmmm I wonder if its because of the short legs.

"The species breeds in shallow forest streams and the tadpoles are large and black. The Black-eyed Litter Frog ranges from Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore and possibly Sarawak, Borneo. Size (snout to vent) : Female 5 cm, Male 4.5 cm"


References

Wild Singapore site
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/frogblkeyed.htm

Amphibians of Southeast Asia : Black-eyed Litter Frog - Leptobrachium
nigrops
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/black-eyed_litter_frog.htm

Colugo attacked by poachers! (reproduced from wildsingapore)

This time this is a sighting of an ugly side of human nature instead
of nature--poachers. I hope everyone can play a part in protecting
what precious little we have....
Kevin

Colugo attacked by poachers!
Photos and details on Aaron's post on the Nature Photographic Society forum
http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/dcforum/DCForumID2/574.html#1

Poachers shot down a mother colugo (flying lemur) and her
baby on Sunday. A group of civic-minded people alerted NParks who took charge of
the situation.

More about colugos...
Norman Lim who studied them
http://www.wildsingapore.com/riablog/people/norman.htm

Fact sheet and photos of colugos on Kwok Wai's WildLife Singapore
website http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/colugo.htm

"Flying Lemur thriving in Singapore's Nature Reserves"
http://www.molluscan.com/forum/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=printer_format&om=153&forum=DCForumID14

The nature reserve is supporting a 3,000-strong colony of flying
lemurs, which were previously thought to be near extinction in
Singapore.

Associate Professor Peter Ng, director of the Raffles Museum of
Biodiversity Research: 'This animal is secretive and rarely seen. A
study like this shows that an endangered animal like the flying
lemur is doing better than we thought.'

However, other less-adaptable species could be in trouble.

Earlier this year, a landmark study by the National University of
Singapore and Australia's Northern Territory University found that
Singapore has lost about half its animal species in the last 200
years.

Based on detailed documentation of the state of mammals, birds, fish
and butterflies on the island, it found that at least 881 of 3,196
recorded species, or 28 per cent - had vanished forever.

Taking into account the probable number of animals here before
detailed records were made in the late 1800s, it predicted this
figure was actually higher - about half Singapore's animals.

And more than half of those remaining live in the nature reserves.

Considering how many species have gone extinct, Prof Ng said it was
a very pleasant surprise to find the flying lemurs thriving.

'It shows that even though we have small forests, they do contain
some jewels.'

You CAN make a difference!
--------------------------
Be alert to people who are out to hurt our native wildlife.

If you come across suspicious people in the forest, please call
NParks at 64685736.

Branded Imperial Eooxylides tharis @ Lower Peirce by Kevin

Branded Imperial Eooxylides tharis @ Lower Peirce by Kevin
Originally uploaded by koiyau.

Finally more pics of my own! This is a Branded Imperial butterfly (Eooxylides tharis subsp distanti) spotted at Lower Peirce reservoir at 2006.02.25. The caterpillar of this small butterfly feeds on the infamous Smilax bracteata, which is a common local forest vine which grows very aggressively.


















References

awakening to the forest riches of macritchie, singapore
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/pub/naturewatch/text/a073d.htm

ARCBC: Biodiversity Information Sharing Service
http://arcbc.org/cgi-bin/abiss.exe/spd?SID=798267605&spd=1009⊂=2096&tx=LE

The Branded Imperial
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/2382/lycaenidae/tharis.htm

Lower pierce macros 11/03/06 by melvynyeo

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1981792
All insects! But great shots! Would be fun to id all of them if I could...

Blue-winged Pitta Pitta moluccensis @ SBG by SKFOO

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1981472
SkFoo spotted this rare bird who is an uncommon winter visitor to our tropical island in Botanic Gardens and have wonderful pics to show! He has an excellent writeup on their biology as well!
with sources from "Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds" and "Birds –An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore" A must READ!

Oriental Whip Snake Ahaetulla prasina @ Bukit Panjang Mountain Biking Trail by domvonn

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=1941941
Oriental Whip Snake spotted at Bukit Panjang Mountain Biking Trail 26/02/06 by domvonn
Busy week! Will post my lower pierce exploits soon.

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

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."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja spotted at Mandai Orchid Garden by Peng Eik

Lovely shot of a crimson sunbird on a ginger torch plant! Was blown away...
link

You can go to his gallery to view more of his amazing shots there's even a glimpse of the smooth coated otter!

Asian Koel Eudynamis scolopacea spotted by Jason Tan aka madcatII

LINK
Is it the mating season for koels? I don't know but here's a great series of pictures by Jason of the bid to win the heart of a female koel!

Red-breasted Parakeet Psittacula alexandri spotted in Changi Village by chngpe01

An informative post in CS by chngpe01
"The Red-breasted Parakeet, also known as the Moutacheed Parakeet, are not natives of Singapore and was originally found only in Java and Bali.

Together with many others species of parrots and parakeets, the Red-breasted Parakeet were introduced to Singapore 3-4 decades ago through the bird trade. Most have established themselves in Singapore and have feral (i.e. tame birds that returned to the wild) breeding populations.

These parakeets are found at Changi Village around the village Angsana trees along the main road and they actually nest in tree holes found on those trees. So if you are in the vicinity do look out for them and others

Cheers

PE"

More info can be found here
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/changi/villagebirds/index.html

Heavy Jumper Hyllus diardi by tchuanye

The first one is his fav.Excellent macros and id by tchuanye @ clubsnap!
always amazed at his shots...the latest one is of a Heavy jumper shot at Henry park! He has kindly allowed me to reproduce the photos here. Copyrights and credits are all his!
His original post in clubsnap is here
His gallery on spiders if you are hungry for more

A good reference on spiders is
From "A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre and sponsored by British Petroleum© 2000 Joseph K H Koh