All Creatures Great and Small #75
Betta Hendra
The critically endangered Betta hendra, endemic to Borneo’s peat swamp forests, faces severe threats from habitat loss and overharvesting. This study marks the first successful captive breeding of B. hendra, offering key insights for conservation. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70186
New Species
Recent collections from Kapit, Sarawak (Borneo), have revealed several new species of figs (earth figs). This study presents four newly described species. According to the author, these new species were discovered because other researchers did not look down on the ground. doi: 10.26492/gbs77(1).2025-05
New Species
Added to a family of true freshwater crabs, two new species, Niahusa cahyoi n. sp. and Samudrasa exigua n. sp., are described from central Borneo and Sumatra, respectively. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 2025, 45, ruaf035 https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruaf035
Museum Collections
This article describes the collection of materials from Borneo to Leicester, England, along with the history of collecting in early twentieth-century Britain. Specifically, it tells of the Charles Hose collection to the Dryad Handicraft Collection (now in the Leicester Museum). https://doi.org/10.4000/14f8h
Flowers
Some flowers in Borneo have structures that prevent self-pollination. This essay examines the pistils and stamens of the flowers of the Belimbing hutan tree and how they prevent self pollination. The plant produces two types of flowers where one has short stamens and the other has long stamens. The stamens are high in one flower or low in the other flower. The pollen grains are also different in each type of the two flowers. These observations of the Belimbing hutan tree suggest that the tree is of the distyly type. All three characteristics( high vs low stamens, short vs long stamens, and different pollen grains help to prevent self-pollination. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2025.06.011
Indonesia Confrontation O
Operation CLARET incorporated several characteristics typically associated with guerrilla warfare. The campaign relied on small-unit actions by lightly equipped forces operating with a high degree of independence. Missions targeted enemy supply lines, bases, and detachments, emphasizing mobility, surprise, and hit-and-run tactics. Yet CLARET was not a guerrilla campaign. It was a deliberate raiding strategy conducted by a conventional military force operating from fixed bases, within tightly controlled parameters. Troops were tethered to logistical support in Malaysia, and their endurance in the jungle was constrained by resupply limitations, fatigue, and the demands. SMALL WARS & INSURGENCIES https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2025.2538656
Illegal Logging
There are said to be four timber smuggling routes: two from Kalimatan to Sarawak, one by sea from Sumatra to Malaysia and Singapore, and another by sea from Irian Jaya to China. This timber may be moved with false documents, or with no documents at all, and it has been argued that Malaysian timber companies are turning to Indonesia because forests at home have been depleted by logging. The major purchaser of this timber is Japan. Natural Resources and Law Enforcement ICG Asia Report N° 29, 20 December 2001, p.16. I have copy just ask
Dragon Flies
The dragonflies of the upper Kapit River area have barely been studied. Fifty-three species have been counted. Five of the species were recorded from Kapit Division for the first time and a further 15 (for a total of 20) were recorded from Belaga District for the first time. Faunistic Studies in SE Asian and Pacific Island Odonata 4
New Species
Several new species of water scavenger beetle, plus a reclassification of others, is the subject of this essay. 0.11646/zootaxa.5671.1.1
Zooplankton
The microscopic critters found in the Sematan River are the subject of this essay. The most common are the Copepods which are small crustaceans coming in at 68%, Among the genera, Limnocalanus was the most abundant, comprising 29.56% of the total count. These numbers provide a base from which all future counts can be based. DOI: http://doi.org/10.35370/bjost.2025.7.2-12
New Species
A new species of Fanged frog has been made known to science. The Meratus Creek frog (Limnonectes meratusensis sp. nov.) was discovered in the Meratus Mountain Range in east Kalimantan. DOI: 10.12782/specdiv.30.177
Banded Langur
The diet of the critically endangered Banded langur in Sarawak has been studied through fecal matter. The most abundant plant families were Euphorbiaceae(rubber tree family) and Achariaceae(pohon gatal), with Elateriospermum (herbs) and buan chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus) as dominant genera. The study was conducted at Tanjung Dato National Park, Sarawak. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.13.e161184
New Species
Two new species of Click Beetle have been made known to science from Borneo. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5673.4.4
New Species
This article investigates hook tapeworms in Hammerhead and Requiem sharks. Several new species of hooked tapeworm have been found, including off the waters of Sarawak. 10.1645/24-101
Origin of Islam in Sabah
This article discusses Muslim converts (muallaf) and the early development of Islam in Sabah, Malaysia, spanning from the 14th century to the attainment of independence in 1963. It examines key factors influencing the Islamization process, including trade, the roles of the Brunei and Sulu Sultanates, and the challenges faced during the colonial era. DOI:10.6007/IJARPED/v14-i1/24648
New Species
A new species of plant, psychotria acutiflora, has been made known to science. This species is only known in Sarawak. Psychotria has over 1800 species in the coffee family and is usually an understory plant. It is used in traditional medicines for fevers, wounds, and digestive issues. https://doi.org/10.5735/085.062.0135
New Species
Another species of click beetle has been discovered in Sarawak. 10.11646/zootaxa.5679.2.2
Collection of Articles
The 4th International Conference of Science, Social Science and Humanities “The Art of the Unseen Treasure” has been published by Universiti Putra Malaysia. Of particular interest are several articles about the Buket ethnic group, traditional medicines of the Kelabit (Malay) and pirates, Sultans, and colonial powers in West Kalimatan. ICOSSH2025_ICOSSH2025_Proceeding_Book_V2.pdf
New Species
Two new species of fairy lanterns have been discovered in Sarawak. They are small, rare, and unusual plants that often glow with striking colours. They live together with fungus and do not photosynthesize. They grow in deep shade, often on the forest floor. 10.11646/phytotaxa.715.2.2
Nasopharynx Cancer
Nasopharyngeal cancer is a cancer especially prevalent in the Bidayuh Serian group of Sarawak. It is a cancer of the group of cells that protects the inside cells from the outside ones in the back of the nose and the area where the air passage and food tube meet. It contains the tonsils as part of the immune system. Most people die of cancer. It stretches from Borneo, South China, North Africa, Greenland to Alaska. Now, a group of scientists have tested a drug called Silverstrol, which was isolated from a plant called Segera in Malay of the genus of the mahogany tree, which has been used in traditional medicine. The drug, Silverstrol, acts with combination of other drugs to inhibit the cancer cells. DOI: 10.3892/mco.2025.2890
Compiled by Tom McLaughlin for BorneoHistory.net