Mammal records of two visits to Pulau Bintan, Riau Archipelago, Indonesia in 2018

Abstract

Report of mammal species recorded on Bintan Island, Riau Archipelago, Indonesia during two visits in 2018

Full text

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SEAVR2018:021‐025
ISSN:2424‐8525
Dateofpublication:26January2019
Hostedonlinebyecologyasia.com
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MammalrecordsoftwovisitstoPulauBintan,RiauArchipelago,
Indonesiain2018

BoscoP.L.CHAN&VickyW.K.Chan
boscokf@kfbg.org(BPLChan),button153@gmail.com(VWKChan)
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Observers:BoscoP.L.Chan,VickyW.K.Chan.
Photographsby:BoscoP.L.Chan.
Subjectsidentifiedby:BoscoP.L.Chan,EricJ.Sargis(Tupaiaglis).
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Location:PulauBintan,RiauArchipelago,Indonesia.
Elevation:Sea‐leveltoca.50metres
Habitat:Smallpatchesofold‐growthdipterocarpforest(Fig.1),secondaryforestofvarioussuccessionalstages
(Fig.2),golfcourses,resortgroundsanddisturbedgrassland‐shrublandmosaic.Theprofusionofpalms(Family
Arecaceae)andpandans(FamilyPandanaceae)areprominentfeaturesinthenaturalforestoftheisland.
Datesandtimes:25‐29July2018,14‐17September2018,dayandnight.
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Figure1. Figure 2. 
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Identityofsubjectsanddescriptionsofrecords:
1) CommonTreeshrew,Tupaiaglis(Mammalia:Scandentia:Tupaiidae),
SeendailyinforestinteriorandtheresortgroundsinSeptember(Fig.3).Individualswereseen,alwaysonthe
ground,throughoutdaylighthoursincludingoneraidingarubbishbinatnoon.
2) Long‐tailedMacaque,Macacafascicularis(Mammalia:Primates:Cercopithecidae),
Common,observeddailyinbothforestinterior,golfcoursesandresortgrounds,withtroopsofupto30
individualsseenonbothtrips(Fig.4).
3) SilveryLutung(SilveredLeafMonkey),Trachypithecuscristatus(Mammalia:Primates:Cercopithecidae),
Seendailyonbothtrips,activeatdawnandduskinpatchesofmatureinlandaswellascoastalforests
(Fig.5).Thebiggesttroopconsistedof8individualswithjuvenilesandinfants,andatroopwasseenfeeding
onthecauliflorousfruitsofafigtree(Ficussp.).ItislistedasNearThreatenedintheIUCNRedList.
4) PlantainSquirrel,Callosciurusnotatus(Mammalia:Rodentia:Sciuridae),
Seendailyonbothtrips,mostvisibleinresortgroundsandgolfcourses,wheresomeindividualsare
habituated(Fig.6).
5) Small‐toothedPalmCivet,Arctogalidiatrivirgata(Mammalia:Carnivora:Viverridae),
Oneadultobservedon28Julyat21:30hrs,restingca.10metresfromthegroundinatalltreeinapatchof
talldipterocarpforestwithdisturbedundergrowth(Fig.7).Whenrevisitedanhourlateritwasactivein
nearbytalltrees,thenitmovedoutofsight.
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6) Sambar,Rusaunicolor(Mammalia:Artiodactyla:Cervidae),
Threemales,witheithervelvetedorhardenedantlers,wereseeninRiaBintanGolfClub(Fig.8).Sambaris
notconsideredtobepartofnativeBintanfauna(Dammerman,1926,Meijaardetal,2007).Aninterviewwith
themanagementrevealedthatsomedeerwereimportedfromKalimantanbythenowclosedLagoiZoo.One
maleand3femalesweregiventothegolfclubaroundtheyear2013,whichbredincaptivityandwerelater
released.Abreedinggroupof17‐20deerarecurrentlyroamingfreelyinthevicinityofthegolfcourseand
surroundingforest,andcomeouttograzeonthefairways.TheBorneansubspeciesRu.brookeiisendemicto
Borneo.SambarislistedasVulnerableintheIUCNRedList.
7) EurasianWildPigorBeardedPig,Sussp.(Mammalia:Artiodactyla:Suidae),
BoththeBeardedPig(Susbarbatus)andtheEurasianWildPig(S.scrofa)havebeenreportedfromBintan
Island(Dammerman,1926;websiteofIUCNSSCWildPig,Peccary&HippoSpecialistGroups).Photographs
takenbyhandphoneswereshowntotheauthorsbytwoseparatelocalinhabitants,butthephotoqualities
precludeddefinitivespecies‐levelidentification.Sadly,onesetofphotosdepictedapighuntingeventoutside
theBintanResortsarea.Theothersetofphotosshowedafamilygroupofpigsindaylightcrossingapaved
roadnearRiaBintanGolfClub.Diggingsbypigswereobservedbytheauthorsinforestinteriornearby,and
golfcourseworkersalsoreportedbabihutan(“forestpig”inBahasaIndonesia)arecommon,whichcouldbe
eitherspecies.
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Remarks:TheauthorspaidtwovisitstothenortherncoastofPulau(=Island)Bintan,intheRiauArchipelago,
Indonesia,whichliessome40kmsouthofSingapore.Thenorthernpartoftheislandhasbeendevelopedfor
internationaltourismwithresortsandassociatedfacilitiesofdifferentscales,andisknowncollectivelyasthe
“BintanResorts”.Despitethedevelopment,thelandscapeofBintanResortsispredominatelycoveredin
secondary(includingpeatswamp)forestsofvarioussuccessionalstages,withsmallpatchesofold‐growth
dipterocarpandoriginalpeatswampforests.
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WithregardstotheCommonTreeshrew,thesubspeciesT.g.castaneaisendemictoBintanIslandwithadistinct
pelage(theexampleinFigure3hasamarkedlyreddishtail).Sargisetal.(2017)considertheBintansubspecies,
togetherwiththepopulationfromnearbyMapurIsland,tobeuniqueamongstcommontreeshrews,and“…have
aclearlydistinctivepelagethatsuggestsaffinitywithaspeciesotherthanT.glis”i.e.itcouldpotentiallybea
separatespecies,orrelatedtotheRuddyTreeshrewT.splendidulaspeciescomplex.
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Figure3.CommonTreeshrew,Tupaiag
l
is
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Figure4.Long‐tailedMacaque,Macacafascicularis
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Figure5.SilveryLutung,Trachypithecuscristatus
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Figure6.PlantainSquirrel,Callosciurusnotatus
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Figure7.Small‐toothedPalmCivet,Arctogalidiatrivirgata
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Figure8.Sambar,Rusaunicolor
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Allimages©BoscoP.L.Chan
Regardingtheidentityof“forestpigs”onPulauBintan,theBeardedPigsubspeciesS.b.barbatuswaspreviously
recordedontheislandbutwasreportedlyextirpated;thisspeciesisinrapiddeclinegloballyandislistedas
VulnerableintheIUCNRedList(Luskinetal.,2017).TheEurasianWildPighasbeenreportedas“fairlycommon
throughoutnorthernBintan”(Subaraj,1994).Fieldidentificationofthesetwospeciescanbechallengingand,in
viewoftheabsenceofrecentbiodiversitysurveysforBintanIslandandtheresilienceofpigspeciestosurviveon
fragmentedanddegradedforest,bothspeciescouldstillbepresent.Itwouldbeinterestingtoconductsurveysto
clarifytheidentification,distributionandstatusofwildpigsonBintan.
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References:
Dammerman,K.W.(1926).ThefaunaofDurianandtheRhio‐LinggaArchipelago.Treubia8:281‐326.
IUCNSSCWildPig,Peccary&HippoSpecialistGroups.(undated).EurasianWildPig(Susscrofa)
https://sites.google.com/site/wildpigspecialistgroup/home/Sus‐scrofa
Luskin,M.,Ke,A.,Meijaard,E.,Gumal,M.&Kawanishi,K.2017.Susbarbatus(errataversionpublishedin2018).
TheIUCNRedListofThreatenedSpecies2017:e.T41772A123793370.http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017‐
3.RLTS.T41772A44141317.en.Accessedon22December2018
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andproductionforestryinIndonesianBorneo(revisededition).Bogor,Indonesia:CIFOR
Sargis,E.J.,Woodman,N.,Morningstar,N.C.,Bell,T.N.andOlson,L.E.2017.Skeletalvariationandtaxonomic
boundariesamongmainlandandislandpopulationsofthecommontreeshrew(Mammalia:Scandentia:Tupaiidae).
BiologicalJournaloftheLinneanSociety120(2):286‐312.
Subaraj,R.1994.RecordsfromnorthernPulauBintan,RiauIslands,Indonesia.Pangolin:abulletinonSingapore
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