Discovered Species in the Heart of Borneo

A frog with no lungs, a “ninja” slug firing love darts at its mate, and the world’s longest insect are among new species discovered in the three years since the Heart of Borneo conservation plan was drawn up by the three governments with jurisdiction over the world’s third largest island.

The Bornean Flat-headed Frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis) was first discovered in 1978 and is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is known only from two locations in the middle of the Kapuas River Basin, where the species is threatened by pollution from mining activities.

Kopstein’s Bronzeback snake (Dendrelaphis kopsteini) is a beautiful-looking species that can grow to an impressive 1.5 metres in-length. Like most Dendrelaphis species, the Kopstein’s bronzeback has an aggressive disposition with a painful bite. In the wild, many inhabit trees and they hunt frogs and lizards.

This enormous stick insect, found near Gunung Kinabalu Park, Sabah, in the Heart of Borneo measures 56.7cm or over half a metre in length. Despite its size, very little is known about its biology and ecology, although it was described in 2008. The Chan’s megastick (Phobaeticus chani) was selected as one of “The Top 10 New Species” described in 2008 by The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists.

A remarkably striking zebra-striped fish (Eirmotus insignis) was officially described in 2008. The eight-banded barb, as it is commonly-called, has been mostly recorded from the middle Kapuas between the towns of Sanggau and Putussibau, Kalimantan, in the Heart of Borneo.

Perhaps the rarest of the extensive invertebrate species group are slugs which, according to scientists, are infrequently encountered. At great altitudes on Borneo, several rare and highly endemic species appear to exist, including one new colourful green and yellow species, Ibycus rachelae, described from Sabah, Malaysia, in the Heart of Borneo.

This Mulu Flying Frog was found 1,650m above sea level in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, in the Heart of Borneo. The species is known only from the Tapin Valley near a small stream in the area, making it highly endemic.

One such orchid, Thrixspermum erythrolomum, was described from Gunung Trus Madi, Malaysia’s second highest mountain at 2,642m, close to Gunung Kinabalu. This mountain is well known to support a diverse range of unique flora and fauna. The discovery adds further to Borneo’s reputation as a mysterious secret garden.

This new freshwater prawn species, Macrobrachium kelianense, was discovered in 2007. The species was one of two newly identified by scientists in the Kelian River, located in the interior of East Kalimantan, in the Heart of Borneo.

In 2007 scientists described a new species of skink from several isolated localities in Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan. The new skink (Lipinia inexpectata) from the Heart of Borneo is small compared with other Lipinia species, measuring just under 8cm in length.

Slideshow: View images of some of the species recently discovered in Borneo

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Borneo’s New World: Newly Discovered Species in the Heart of Borneo

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News item: Heart of Borneo emerges as home of world’s longest insect, lungless frog and “ninja” slug

Video: The newly discovered Kopstein's bronzeback snake is caught on camera eating a lizard.

What other mysteries await in the Heart of Borneo?

Borneo is an island in Southeast Asia that is mostly covered by dense tropical forests that are full of many amazing and threatened species, such as the pygmy elephant, orang-utan, rhinoceros, and clouded leopard. The natural environment of this region is under threat as forests are increasingly destroyed to make way for timber companies, palm oil plantations, mining operations, hydropower and other infrastructure developments.

Learn more about WWF's Heart of Borneo initiative, which works with the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei Darussalam to protect the immense and constantly surprising biodiversity of this incredibly rich region of our living planet.

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