# Taman Negara, Malaysia. June 2011



## moloch05 (Aug 14, 2011)

In June, I spent two weeks at Taman Negara (peninsular Malaysia) before I met the others and headed out to the Maliau Basin in Sabah (Borneo). Taman Negara is a fantastic national park and is one of my favourites with its lowland, dipterocarp rainforest. This was my fifth visit but I still saw several new birds and of course, many new butterflies that I had not previously encountered. Diversity of about everything in the park is high. 

I travelled to the national park by bus from Hotel Istana in central KL to Kuala Tembeling Jetty and then by boat to Kuala Tahan. There is a new road to Kuala Tahan but this would not be nearly as interesting as the three hour trip up the river. Here is a map that shows the location of Taman Negara.







While in transit on the river, I sometimes saw Oriental Pied/Black/Wreathed/Rhinoceros Hornbills, Blue-throated Bee-eaters, Stork-billed Kingfishers, Long-tailed/Pig-tailed Macaques and other animals. Butterfly sightings usually included the large black and yellow birdwings, various crows and occasional groups of puddling swallowtails and pierids. The trip on the river is always productive.


Here are a few shots along the river while in transit to/from the park.










These colourful flowering vines were often seen on the journey.






I always stay in the hostel of the Mutiara Resort. The resort has a range of options for accommodation but I find the hostel to be perfectly adequate since I am usually out on the trails for most of the day. I had the room to myself most of the time. It also was cheap and the price included a tasty buffet breakfast. The resort borders on the national park so I could go for walks anytime that I wanted either during the day or night. Birding and butterfly photography were good right on the grounds of the resort. Here are shots of the chalet type accommodation:






An absolute must-do activity is to take a boat from the headquarters up the Tahan River to Lata Berkoh. I did this twice and the journey was so beautiful. The boat passed beneath giant Neram trees (_Dipterocarpus oblongifolius_) that overhang the river and form a tunnel in places. On morning trips, I heard the lovely song of White-handed Gibbons. Birds were also good and included nesting Black-and-Red Broadbills, Tickell's Blue Flycatchers, Lesser Fish Eagles, hornbills and many other species. 






Lata Berkoh was a good place to search for butterflies. I found several interesting species on the sandbar where the boats stop as well as on rocks above the falls.










The walk to Bukit Indah along the Tembeling River was fairly hard going but it did produce a few interesting butterflies, especially where there were tree falls or disturbed areas.






I had the best success with puddling butterflies at Lubok Simpon (swimming hole), an abandoned Orang Asli settlement and on the rocks below the Kelah Sanctuary (Lubuk Tenor).

Lubok Simpon:














Abandoned Orang Asli settlement along the Tahan River trail. This site was excellent in the mid-afternoon if the sun was out.







Santuari Kelah. 













... and the Kelah. Kelah is the Malaysian name for cyprinids known elsewhere as Mahseer. These relatives of carp can become huge and are a popular game fish.







Another area that produced a few different species was Bukit Teresik. This hill was only a few kms from the headquarters but it was a steep climb. On prior trips, I could see Gunung Tahan, the highest mountain in peninsular Malaysia, from the summit of Bukit Teresik. This year, there was always too much moisture in the air and I could not see far into the interior of the park.


Scorpions. The black ones were usually sighted on tree trunks after a night rain.










With a few exceptions, reptiles were hard to find. I saw _Draco_ a few times when they sailed between trees. Skinks were fairly common on sunny days and a few species of geckos were abundant around the accommodation at night. Snakes, though, were nearly absent. In two weeks of walking by day and night, I only saw two snakes. These included a large, fast species that I think was a _Ptyas_, possibly _P. mucous_. The snake was spotted briefly on a trail near a creek but it raced out of site in an instant. The second snake was a small _Dendralaphis_ that also disappeared from view before I could take a snap. Others reported a gorgeous Blue Malayan Coral Snake (_Maticora bivirgata_) near Kumbang Hide and a Krait along the trail back to the headquarters. 


Spotted House Gecko (_Gekko monarchus_): one of the common geckos in the resort.






Many-lined Sun Skink (_Mabuya multifasciata_): the most frequently seen species of skink along the trails.










Rough-scaled Skink (_Mabuya rugifera_): only seen a couple of times






Clouded Monitor (_Varanus bengalensis_) were a common sight.














id?






Bearded Pig






Long-tailed Macaque: enjoyed eating the fruiting figs along with flocks of various bulbuls, pigeons, barbets and others.










Malay Tapir: These two were let out on the resort grounds at times by the parks office. They were both tame and they enjoyed the plants of the gardens.











I saw Sambar Deer, one of the Mouse Deer and this Muntjac while I walked the trails. The Muntjac was at a salt lick below Tabing Hide.







Squirrels of several species were abundant.
Prevost's Squirrel






*PIERIDAE*
Orange Albatross (_Appias nero_): common, especially near the Kelah Sanctuary.






Orange Albatross and Common Albatross (_Appias paulina_)







Common Albatross (_Appias paulina_): the most common albatross of Taman Negara.







_Appias cardena_: Only seen once at the Kelah Sanctuary.






Striped Albatross (_Appias libythea_): A few of these were seen on the grounds of the Mutiara Resort.

... male






... female






Lemon Emigrant (_Catopsilia pomona_): common puddler.






Orange Emigrant (_Catopsilia scylla_): common puddler.






_Saletara liberia_: I saw small numbers of these at the Kelah Sanctuary.






Forest White (_Phrissura aegis_): Most of my sightings were along the trail to Bukit Indah.







Tree Yellow (_Ganda caharina_): I only saw a few of these near Lata Berkoh.







_Eurema andersonii_







_Eurema andersonii_ and _E. similatrix_











*NYMPHALIDAE*

*Charaxinae*
_Charaxes distanti_: This species is rare so I was lucky to encounter it. There are not many field photos of it.






The dark streak on the lower wing in the above shot must have been due to a flying bee. Here is a less side-on shot with a better view of the lower wing.






This Tawny Rajah (_Charaxes bernardus_) was heavily worn. The orange in the background was the _C. distanti_.






Common Nawab (_Polyura athamas_). I only saw this one at Lubok Simpon


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## CHEWY (Aug 14, 2011)

I'm currently on my phone, but when I saw that you'd started a thread David, I didn't care how long it'd take to load. 
Stunning pics as usual and sure there will be a lot of jealousy about. 
I was interested in seeing a lot of simularities in these animals to some amazon species. Even the skink is the same genus. 
Thanks for sharing - hoping there is another thread to follow. 

JD


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## richoman_3 (Aug 14, 2011)

STUNNING pics as usual mate !
love them!

im confident the 2nd scorp is liocheles nigripes, not to good with my exotics though!


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## Enlil (Aug 15, 2011)

This was a good show, any chance you got photos of other invertebrates, Dermaptera? The butterflies were amazing. Good job.

Glen


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## moloch05 (Aug 15, 2011)

Thanks very much. I am glad that the photos are enjoyed.

JD,
There are numerous examples of convergence in the Asian and Neotropical rainforests. When it comes to birds, the babblers are so much like the antbirds. Many of them look so similar even though they are not closely related.


Thanks, richoman, for the scorpion identification.


Glen,
No earwig shots from Taman Negara but I have some from the Maliau Basin in Sabah. I will start that post once I am finished with the Taman Negara photos.



*Heliconiinae*
I found this pair of Malay Lacewings (_Cethosia hypsea_) one afternoon along the Tahan River. I saw the species often but they usually never stopped where I could take their photos. This mating pair landed about 3 m up in a ginger thicket.










Cruisers (_Vindula dejone_) were a common puddling species.






Rustic (_Cupha erymanthis_).






Royal Assyrians (_Terinos terpander_) were the most numerous at the Bukit Teresik lookouts.











*Limenitidinae*
Lance Sergeant (_Athyma pravara_)






_Neptis duryodana_ 






_Neptis miah_. I saw this nicely marked butterfly on a single occasion at the first lookout of Bukit Teresik.











Common Lascar (_Pantoporia hordonia_): 










Commander (_Moduza procris_) 






*Nymphalinae*
Peacock Pansy (_Junonia almana_): I only saw a few of these and all were in the gardens of the resort.







Asian Leaf Butterfly (_Kallima limborgii_): This amazing butterfly was in the forest near Lubok Simpon.







*Morphinae*: These are the Asian counterparts to the Owls of the neotropics.
Tufted Jungleking (_Thauria aliris_): seen occasionally. They seemed to be the most common early in the morning along the trail up Bukit Teresik.











female Dark Blue Jungle Glory (_Thaumantis klugius_)






male Dark Blue Jungle Glory (_Thaumantis klugius_)







female Saturn (_Zeuxidia amethystus_): Was attracted to the lights of the men's washroom at the hostel. These have lovely patches of blue on the upper wings.







_Amathusia schoenbergi_: This is a record shot of one that flushed and then perched a couple of meters up in a tree. It was in rainforest on the upper slope of Bukit Teresik. This species is rarely sighted so I was lucky to find one.






Common Faun 







*Danainae*

Blue Glassy Tiger (_Ideopsis vulgaris_)







Dwarf Crow (_Euploea tulliolus_): I saw a few of these near the lookouts of Bukit Teresik.






Magpie Crow (_Euploea radamanthus_): a common species along the Tahan River and in the campground of the resort.







*Satyrinae*
_Melanitis phedima_: Two seen beneath a fruiting fig tree on the grounds of the Mutiara Resort.






_Mycalesis maianeas_: This nice bush brown was only seen a few times along the Tahan River.







_Mycalesis patiana_







Purple Bush Brown (_Mycalesis orseis_) 







_Mycalesis intermedia_ 






Common Three-Ring (_Ypthima pandocus_)






Common Four-Ring (_Ypthima huebneri_)










Common Five-Ring (_Ypthima horsefieldi_)







Malayan Six-Ring (_Ypthima fasciata_) since the ocelli are arranged in a fairly straight line. 











_Xanthotaenia busiris_: 







Common Palmfly (I]Elymnias hypermnestra[/I])





_PAPILIONIDAE_

Common Bluebottle (_Graphium sarpedon_): By far, the most common _Graphium_. I rarely saw them with open wings like this.










Blue Jay (_Graphium evamon_):







_Graphium eurypylus_






Tailed Jay (_Graphium agamemnon_)






Spotted Jay (_Graphium arycles_): I only saw these once at the Kelah Sanctuary.






Five-bar Swallowtail (_Pathysa antiphates_): This one was practically standing on its head while puddling.






Great Mormon (_Papilio memnon_)







Common Mormon (_Papilio polytes_)









*LYCAENIDAE*

Common Pierrot (_Castalius rosimon_): fairly common. 











Straight Pierrot (_Caleta roxus_): fairly common.







Blue Pierrot (_Discolampa ethion_): Only seen once near the abandoned Orang Asli settlement.







Long-banded Silverline (_Spindasis lohita_): I found a colony of these at a lantana thicket on the grounds of the resort.







Fluffy Tit (_Zeltusa masa_): only seen a few times.






This was my first Scarce Silverstreak (_Irata rochana_). I found it early one morning on the grass lawn of the resort. Even though the temp was 28C, it seemed to be "too cold" to fly. I used a twig to move it to a shrub and it then warmed itself for awhile before flying away.










_Arhopola sp_.







Common Tit (_Hypolycaena erylus_): mostly seen near the abandoned Orang Asli settlement.











_Una usta_: Only found this species once at Lata Berkoh.






_Tongei potanni_: I saw one or two of these at both lookouts of Bukit Teresik.







Common Imperial (_Cheritra freja_): near the Orang Asli settlement.










Cycad Blue (_Chilades pandava_): common in disturbed areas near Mutiara Resort.











_Prosotas dubosa_: 






_Petrelaea dana_. 






_Prosotas nora_. 







Ciliate Blue (_Anthene emolus_)







Hedge Blue (_Acytolepis puspa_)







_Surendra florimel_







Common Posy (_Drupadia ravindra_):











*HERPERIIDAE*

Common Snow Flat (_Tagiades japetus_): Strange, but I only saw these two on the same afternoon and never again.










_Tagiades ultra_






_Darpa pteria_: This flat was seen a couple of times at the first lookout of Bukit Teresik.







_Pithauria marsena_







This was a large, red flat that I flushed along the Jenet Muda Trail while descending from the Bukit Teresik lookouts. It looked much like a Bronzed Flat here in Australia. Fulvous Dawnfly (_Capila phanaeus_)






Common Wight (_Iton semamora_)







Tree Flitter (_Hyarotis adrastus_)











Yellow Banded Awl (_Hasora schoenherr_): This lovely skipper was photographed along the Bukit Teresik trail one morning. It returned to the same spot over and over and pressed its abdomen against the bark of the tree. 






These were really strange, tiny moths that lived on rocks at Lubok Simpon. Their hind wings appeared to be ornamental and not functional for flight. They could hover and I initially thought that they were some sort of bee. Any ideas?










_Koruthaialos rubercula_










Here are two species of colourful day-flying moths. These would also puddle at Lubok Simpon but usually they only did this early in the morning.










I found this nice moth while I was on a night walk.






Here are a few miscellaneous shots.

I think that the following were the most abundant animals in the forests after a rain. They were everywhere. These leeches seemed to like to dine socially. Clusters of them all seemed to be interested in crowding around a bite. 






The combined anticoagulants resulted in quite a mess. My socks were usually dripping with blood at the end of the day. At least the bites do not itch like Aussie leeches.






I picked up small ticks a few times. This one, however, was enormus. I am glad that I was not bitten by it!


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## Treknotechelaps (Sep 2, 2011)

Another great thread Moloch! Excellent photography too.

The Mabuyas have been moved to another genus Eutropis which occurs in southeast Asia. The genus Mabuya is confined to South America now, with the African ones being placed in another genus Euprepus (i think thats how its spelt) or something similar. 
More amazing butterfly photos as well, those tiny moths from Lubok Simpson are really bizarre.


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## moloch05 (Sep 2, 2011)

Thanks for the information, Elapo. I will need to copy this into the little guide book that I use.

Regards,
David


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## jordo (Sep 5, 2011)

Nice work, your photography keeps getting better and better!


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