All Creatures Great and Small # 17

Tomistoma

New Book

One Crowded Moment of Glory is a recent history book about Jesselton uprising in 1943. Available from the University of Malaya Press, it is an important work about Chinese history. For a review see DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022463421000692

Another New Book

“Data Gathering in Colonial Southeast Asia is best described as “a thorough re reading of several British imperial classics in geography and anthropology” states a review of this book. The book is available from Amsterdam University Press. For a review see Can. J. of Netherlandic Studies/Rev. can. d’études néerlandaises 41.1 (2021): 115-117

Balikpapan

This article concerns the naval and land battles of Balikpapan in 1942. A must for those interested in World War Two. https://stringfixer.com/en/Naval_Battle_of_Balikpapan

Crocs Tomistoma

Sounds made by the endangered crock Tomistoma showed they produce “seven signal types” during courtship and mating. https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2021.1967782

The Kayan

The subgroup, Ga’ay, Kayan Busang and Bahau of the Kayan people are discussed here by a Japanese researcher. Uniquely,  the author takes the long oral histories and  teases out the historical facts. He traces the migration from the Sarawak basin to the Kayan basin of north Kalimatan as well as other information.  I can’t figure how to connect the paper to the Internet so you can contact me for a copy.

Rock Art in the Philippines

This paper provides all the known rock art sites in the Philippines. Uniquely, the author states the much debated Austonesian theories do not apply to these sites.  https://doi.org/10.1002/arco.5251

Mass Flowering

The mass flowering at irregular intervals in the rain forests of tropical Southeast Asia is discussed here. Scientists have proposed several theories for this phenomena. (I guess this related to mass fruiting which I have observed a few times over the past 12 years and is called buah tahun) Higher nitrogen levels seems to account for the mass flowering. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/227108

German Battleship SMS Gneisenau

Interesting story about a battleship who arrived off the east coast of Borneo during pre WW One.  https://set18.net/wiki/SMS_Gneisenau

Clams

A paper about the status of clams organizes most information in Sarawak and Sabah. Journal of Threaten Taxa vol 13 #11 2021

Frog Diet

The diet of the little known Borneo Rainbow Frog (Ansonia latidisca) has been explored in Gunung Parisma Sarawak. The stomachs of 30 males and 16 females were flushed and the contents analyzed. There was no variation in consumption between the wet and dry seasons. The males ate mainly ants while the females ate ants and beetles. DOI: 10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.20006

Weather

The dry spells are becoming longer while the wet season shows heavier downpours in the Borneo tropics. My observations here in Kuching show a melding of the wet season into the dry season but what do I know?https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126999

Algae Blooms

A low-level toxic bloom, the first of its kind in the Western Pacific, have infected clams in Miri Bay. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2021.09.018

Pontianak Flooding

A model showing flow and flooding stages in the delta of Kapuas River has been established. HTTP://hdl.handle.net.12078.1/251358

More weather

 The MJO is a group of clouds or low-pressure systems that move along the tropics in a western direction. On the front side, there is increased rainfall while on the back side there is decreased rainfall. They usually occur between monsoon seasons. This study examines the effect of the MJO on rainfall in Indonesia. For a copy of this paper, contact me.

        Loan Words in Brunei Malay

 Using a dictionary, the authors have found most of the loan words come from Arabic, then  English with just a touch of Chinese.  LingPoet: Journal of Linguistics and Literary Research Vol. 2, No.3, 2021 | 1 – 12

Crickets

A new species of scaly cricket has been reported from Sandakan. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5048.3.6

Land Snails

Shell evolution in minute land snails found only in Borneo is discussed in the doctoral dissertation.  https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3214913

Borneo probable source of early Sulawesi people

Borneo is the probable origin of the people in Sulawesi about ~118-194 years ago. A series of computer model drifts from Banda Arc., Mindano and Borneo replicating sea conditions of the time c computer simulations indicated that Borneo was by far the source of the people in Sulawesi. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103194

Dayak Traditional Knowledge

A list of traditional medicines and their uses highlight this paper. It also provides a review of the Dayak’s on Indonesian Kalimantan. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d221057

Reef Fish near Miang Island

This paper discusses the reef fishes at two different depths. A total of 88 species were successfully described in this study. The study can be used as a benchmark to describe reef health in other areas. Journal of Hunan University(Natural Sciences) Vol. 48. No. 9. September 2021

Tiny Snails

The evolution of small snails of Borneo is the subject of this dissertation from Leiden University.https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3214913

The Makassar Strait

Makassar Strait connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is dominated by annual variation (monsoon), and the difference between dry and wet seasons. The variations in the Strait are complex. https://catalog.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/opac_download_md/4493157/4493157_fulltext.pdf

Dung Beetles

The Dung beetles role in making the soil wet by tunnelling is discussed. Ecological Entomology (2021), DOI: 10.1111/een.13094

Dangerous Green Mussels

A study showed the accumulation of the metals cadmium and lead exceed the recommendations of health experts. These mussels, found on the east coast of Java, can cause cancer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.102045