Rail Corridor - A Peaceful Walk

Bukit Timah

Rail Corridor

Central, Singapore

May 2014

The start of the path seems to go on "forever" in a straight mud-track road. Along the way, several concrete pedestrian bridges crisscross it 

Of Spiders & Creatures Caught In Somethings

A muscular Stoliczka's Crab Spider (Thomisus stoliczka) waving its front legs about 

like Toy Story's Rocky Gibraltar...

A free-roaming Shield Bug (Pentatomoidea)wanders about on a leaf... 

Oblivious to the plight of 2 of its friends who lie entombed in nearby webs...

A short distance away, a grasshopper (Orthoptera ) has a foot bath in a raindrop on a leaf...

The Natural Greenery

The figs are in season now - A laden sprig of Common Yellow Stem Fig (Ficus fistulosa)...

A strong smell wafts through the air - Likewise, the jackfruits are in season too...

Next to the durian, chempedaks and jackfruits have the strongest aroma. The jackfruit is a close cousin of the chempedak with a similar appearance, but is much bigger and rounder, about 4 times the size of a chempadak.

Of Butts & Dragons

A light Malayan Eggfly (Hypolimnas anomala) Butterfly rests on a fern...

A Blue Dasher (Brachydiplax chalybea) Dragonfly perches on a stalk of grass...

Of Birds That Fly & Chirp

This is a Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica). The very same bird that zips around the sky and hovers above the surface of the water near water sources...

A very tame Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus). Instead of the pale yellow blue eyes of its papa and mama, this "baby" version has the clearest pale blue eyes...

(Not noisy too!)

It was certainly a peaceful walk away from the hustle and bustle of city life...

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Central Catchment Reserve - Rare Flying Lemur

Central Catchment Reserve

Central, Singapore

October 2014

The Central Catch Reserve is always full of surprises. Other than the surprising finds during this trip, Merlion Wayfarer was privileged to see the rare Malayan Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) here today. It was her first sighting in more than five years ago...

What is a Colugo? 

Colugos are mammals from an ancient lineage, with just two species comprising the Order Dermoptera from the Greek words derma, meaning "skin", and the ptera, meaning "wing", thus "skin-wing". Also called 'Flying Lemurs', though they are not closely related to the Lemurs of Madagascar.

Why Are They Rare? 

Colugos are shy and generally solitary, except for mothers nursing young. During the day they rest high in the trees, clinging to trunks or hiding in tree holes. At dusk they become active, gliding from trunk to trunk silently overhead. 

Their most distinctive feature is the membrane of skin that extends between their limbs and gives them the ability to glide long distances between trees. Of all the gliding mammals, the colugos have the most extensive adaptation to flight. Their gliding membrane, or patagium, is as large as is geometrically possible: it runs from the shoulder blades to the fore paw, from the tip of the rear-most finger to the tip of the toes, and from the hind legs to the tip of the tail; unlike in other known gliding mammals, even the spaces between the fingers and toes are webbed to increase the total surface area, as in the wings of bats.

Both species are threatened by habitat destruction, and the Philippine flying lemur was classified by the IUCN as vulnerable at one time. The IUCN 1996 had declared the species vulnerable due to destruction of lowland forests and hunting. It was downlisted to least concerns in 2008, but still under the same threats as before.

Why Are They So High Up?

Herbivores in diet, colugos eat mainly leaves, young shoots, flower buds and sap.

According to researcher Greg Byrnes, gliding was faster. Colugos are surprisingly clumsy climbers. Lacking opposable thumbs and not being especially strong, they proceed upwards in a series of slow hops, gripping onto the bark of trees with their small, sharp claws. They are as comfortable hanging underneath a branch as sitting on top of it. However, they can go 10 times as fast and cover long distances gliding. This enables them to spend more time foraging,

Sources

• "Colugo". Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colugo. (19 April 2015)
    
• "Colugo or Flying Lemur". Ecology Asia. Retrieved from http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/colugo.htm. (19 April 2015)
     
• "Singapore's cool colugos: why they glide" by Norman LIM (04 August 2011). IYB 2010. Retrieved from http://iyb2010singapore.blogspot.sg/2011/08/singapores-cool-colugos-why-they-glide.html.
    
• "The Encyclopedia of Mammals" by MacKinnon, Kathy (1984). Macdonald, D., ed. New York: Facts on File. pp. 446–447. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.

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Central Catchment Reserve - Full Of Surprises

Central Catchment Reserve

Central, Singapore

October 2014

The Central Catch Reserve is always full of surprises. On a Sunday morning, these were the surprising finds in the northern part of the Reserve...

Oriental Whip Snake

If there is a favourite snake category, this will be one of Merlion Wayfarer's favourite snakes, for its sheer elegance and beautiful eyes.

The Ahaetulla prasina (Oriental Whip Snake) is arboreal and lives in bushes and trees.

Normally shy creatures, they are not that easily spotted, as they blend well with the environment, with their vine-like body, are usually found above or below eye level, and do not stay still long. They can climb extremely fast up a tree, or across branches.

Little Surprises

An adorable little grasshopper...

It was the season for pondskaters (Gerridae). They were there by the thousands...

The melodious call of a male Dicrurus paradiseus (Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo).
Survival here must be tough; half its tail feathers were missing...

Butterflies & Moths

Pausing on a leave, a male Tanaecia iapis puseda (Horsfield's Baron) shows off its velvety black upperside with a broad bright blue marginal border on its hindwings...

A caterpillar caught in a web that it spins, ready for pupating...

A colourful little caterpillar looking lost...

Dragons 

A male Tyriobapta torrida (Treehugger) Dragonfly resting on, what else, a tree...

A male Trithemis aurora (Crimson Dropwing) Dragonfly lands and assumes the obelisk position to exposure to the weather on a hot day...

Froghopper / Spittlebug

Seeing the spit-like foam is an indication that there are spittle bugs around. The foam is where young spittlebugs live. These insects are protected by the foam. They usually do not do much harm to the plants.

The space inside the foam is moist to keep the bugs’ soft bodies from drying out. And the foam tastes bad, so it keeps away most animals that would eat the bugs.

Looking a puddle of foam are spittle bug eggs....

Spiders

Clasping a thin blade of grass with four of its legs,
this Tylorida striata (Striated Tylorida) rests almost hidden...

A playful male Phintella vittata (Banded Phintella) Spider hops about from leaf to leaf, brilliant against the light in its shimmering colours...

The Flying Lemur was sighted too!

Sources

• "Oriental whip snake" (February 2014). Wild Fact Sheets, Wild Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/snakes/prasina.htm.
  
• "Oriental Whip Snake - Venomous - Not Dangerous" by Vern (16 October 2010). Thailand Snakes!. Retrieved from http://www.thailandsnakes.com/venomous/rear-fanged/oriental-whip-snake-venomous-not-dangerous/.

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