Eyeshines and Wildlife (2024)

11/04/2023

Spotted litter frog (Leptobrachium hendricksoni)
Another species of frog that is fairly common in lowland forest and also in urban forested areas, can spot a couple of these dudes per h**p trip. This species is larger than the black-eyed litter frog in size, and has nice orange eyes. My next litter frog target species would be the Smith's litter frog (Leptobrachium smithii) which looks similar to this, but the eyes has a resemblance of a sunset. The first 2 pictures was a handsome shot of a small sized juvenile, he was very brave and maintained his stand up position eventhough I got very close to him, usually they will crouch down when I gotten too close. And he's a bit funny looking too with that small head 😂 the 3rd and 4th pic is an adult one which sadly crouched before I can get a good shot.

03/04/2023

Blyth's River frog (Limnonectes blythii)
Also known as the giant Asian River frog, the males of this species can grow up to 9cm to 12cm, whilst the female will be double the size from 9cm to a staggering 26cm (snout to vent length)!!! The individual in this picture is a rather young and small one, and with the stripe running across its back, it can be often confused with the Asian Grass Frog (F.limnocharis) who shares the same feature too. The difference is the presence of small "horns" above the eye, and also the "crosshair" like pupil. They come in many colour variations, such as this light brown, and some in reddish brown colour (I did encounter one later on, but it hopped away before I can take a shot). This species is fairly common and dozens can be found on a h**p night in lowland forests.

30/03/2023

Long-legged horned frog (Grillitschia longipes)
Although it doesn't have fancy long horns like the Malayan Horned Frog (Pelobatrachus nasutus), it still has some pointy skin above its eyes to resemble horns. But this species have quite the interesting eyes, this individual in the picture has web-like iris amongst the white lera. Another individual I've shot in Fraser's Hill before has orange eyes instead. Common in lowland and montane forests, they often stand tall on their front legs to scout for prey and predator. Sometimes they can be found perched on low hanging branches, waiting for any unlucky insects to pass by and become their meal. Unless provoked directly, they usually do not hop away and are very nice subjects to photograph despite how close my camera is to its face.

27/03/2023

Wallace's flying tree frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)
Not a lifer, but it's rare for me to see one this up close when they are usually high up in the trees! It has rained heavily hours earlied before we starting h**ping, and it stopped just nice when we reached (yes we're ready h**p in the rain!) and music to our ears, we are able to pick up the Wallace's frog call of "tuk tuk tuk tuk" amongst the orchestral calls of many other species of frogs. This species is larger than other Rhacophorus sp. They all share the same green dorsal, white belly, but this Wallace's webbings are black-yellow colouration which I was able to get an insitu shot that shows it (usually their webbings are closed which is hard to see the colours). With these large and colourful webbings, it allows them to "fly" from tree to tree if there is any danger present to them. Now let's hope I see the rest of the Rhacophorus sp.!

19/02/2023

Selangor Silvery Langur (Trachypithecus selangorensis)

As the name suggested, this picture was indeed taken at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park 😂 but of course its distribution isn't just limited to the Malaysian state Selangor only, as this species can be found in coastal and riverine habitats on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The babies are a striking orange colour as seen in this picture, which is a large contrast to the adult coloration of black and silver hue. Grown accustomed to human food despite multiple signs saying "NO FEEDING", local vendors offer tourists fruits and peanuts to feed the monkeys as business. Thus, the resident macaques and langurs are very comfortable to be close to human contact.

30/01/2023

Mangrove Jewel Beetle (Calliphara nobilis)

When we were h**ping, we tend to look for eyeshines (reflection of our headlamps from the animal's retina) or irregular shapes that doesn't look vegetation-like. And when something COLOURFUL and SHINY appears within the spotlight of the torch, it would be a swarm of these beetles on the same plant! Their diet consists of the leaves and fruits of the host plant, and can be found in mangrove forests as their name suggested. When adult, they possess the typical shield bug body structure, and when they are young, their nymph form is just simply a round ball which has 6 legs and very shiny. So nice to have this many individuals on the same plant, which allows me to pick whichever is the easiest to photograph with at a comfortable height and angle.

15/01/2023

Larut torrent frog (Amolops larutensis)
These frogs are well adapted to the fast flowing waters of Malaysian streams and rivers. When young, their tadpoles have suction lips, which allows them to stick to the slippery surfaces on the rocks and feed on the lumut. When adults, they cling to wet rocks and any vegetations near the water source. It was a fun night, as when I shine my headlamp onto the stream, and I see dozens of eyeshines staring back at me. And i get to pick whichever torrent frog was the easiest to shoot, and I took this shot. They were not intimidated by the bright light or by the camera approaching it.

09/01/2023

Golden-spotted tiged beetle (Cicindela aurulenta)
Tiger beetles are colourful yet voracious predators, they feed on any nearby invertebrates with a quick dash, and then they clamp onto the prey with its strong mandibles. It is said that tiger beetles temporarily "lose" their vision when they're hunting since they moved too fast for their eyes to capture visions clearly. This species can be found near sandy banks of flowing waters, forest trails, and even in mangrove areas. Active during the day, they sleep on leaf at night, which makes it easier for me to take a picture of this resting individual. I'd like to try another picture of this species or with any tiger beetles when I have a macro set up.

04/01/2023

Land snails are fairly common around us, they can be found in urban vegetation areas and also in secondary forests. But as we go to montane hills, some snails tend to look way prettier than the other species, and right here with yellow green shell, red flesh and purple blue eyes, is the Hemiplecta malaouyi. These can grow fairly big, until the length of 7cm, and it sure did caught my attention when I was h**ping. Had to ID this snail using the Snail Identification guide from Mybis called "An Introduction to the Land Snails and Slugs of Malaysia". Since it has piqued my interests in these slimy invertebrates, my next target species is the Fire Snail (Platymma tweedie) which is native to Malaysia.

01/01/2023

Heteropoda lunala
Huntsman spiders come from the family Sparrasidae, and they're all agile hunters who feed on nearby insects or anything smaller than it, including other huntsman spiders. Although not as common the Heteropoda venatoria which we can find almost everywhere, this species can be differentiate by the pretty blue coloured femur with white spots on it, their legs tend to be "furrier" than the usual huntsman. This individual was spotted under a tree branch around eye level, so i took this shot while arching my back backwards at 120°, managed to shoot a few pictures (thank god it was clear enough) before it scurried around the branch and disappear into thin air.

01/01/2023

Heteropoda lunala
Huntsman spiders come from the family Sparrasidae, and they're all agile hunters who feed on nearby insects or anything smaller than it, including other huntsman spiders. Although not as common the Heteropoda venatoria which we can find almost everywhere, this species can be differentiate by the pretty blue coloured femur with white spots on it, their legs tend to be "furrier" than the usual huntsman. This individual was spotted under a tree branch around eye level, so i took this shot while arching my back backwards at 120°, managed to shoot a few pictures (thank god it was clear enough) before it scurried around the branch and disappear into thin air.

27/12/2022

Black-eyed Litter Frog (Leptobrachium nigrops). This species is one of the most common species among the Litter frog family. And as the name suggests, its big black eyes give it a cute expression like the 🥺 emoji, or puppy eyes (weird cause it's a frog). Aside from that, this frog is usually black or dark grey on the dorsal of the body, and on its side, it has a mottled pattern with creamy white or blue colour. When undisturbed, it will maintain a standing posture proudly on its front legs to stare far away to spot for prey and predator. When disturbed, they will immediately crouch down as flat to the ground to avoid being detected by the predator.

23/12/2022

Earless agamid (Aphaniotis fusca) are diurnal lizards, and can be found in secondary forests, swamp forests and hill forests. Although this is as common as another agamid (Green-crested Lizard), the Earless agamid comes in various colour to aide with its camouflage, it can be found in green, brown, and also golden brown. Males of this species also have the insides of their mouth in blue colour.

19/12/2022

Lesser stream toad (Ingerophrynus parvus) can be commonly found near sandy banks of flowing water in lowland tropical forests. After a heavy rain, large groups of multiple pairs can be found mating in shallow water bodies. During my h**p trip, I've spotted them in small ponds, drains, puddles in the forest floor, and sometimes even on the leaves of short vegetation. Their mating calls are a continuous but short series of "brr-brr-brr-brr-brr".

05/12/2022

Introducing our Malaysian pride: the reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) for being the world's longest snake species. People often confused between the reticulated python and the green anaconda on being the biggest snake. The green anaconda is the world's biggest snake for its size, as it has a sturdy build; whilst the reticulated python's body is much more slender and it is famous for its length, hence the world's longest snake. Both snakes species are constrictors, which they wrap their body around their prey and suffocate it until the last breath is gone. Imagine the hug of death, as the snake's large body itself is heavy, and it is also exerting force at the same time. The individual in the picture is a juvenile, but still needs to be handled with caution.

03/12/2022

Montane Slug Snake (Asthenodipsas vertebralis)

What makes this snake unique, is that its diet solely feeds on slugs and snails as per its name suggested. This species can be found in submontane and montane forests with high humidity and cold temperatures. Its attractive body features would be the orange/red eye, along with the "sharp" or mountain spine along its dorsal part.

29/11/2022

Guess which snake is this?

Here's a hint, it's from the Trimeresurus genus. The Green Pit Viper family can be found distributed across Thailand, Malaysia, and also down to Borneo. Their general characteristics are green dorsal scales, triangular head, potent venom, and also the brick red scales on their tail. However, what makes these vipers special and different from each other is that they all have their variations of patterns, colours, scale counts, and also venom potency.

15/09/2022

The Common Puddle Frog (Occidozyga laevis) is a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae family. They're commonly found at the banks of fast moving streams and stagnant puddles, hence their name. This individual has gorgeous blue eyes that stands out from his sandy brown body, giving it a very handsome appreance.

Eyeshines and Wildlife

11/04/2023

03/04/2023

30/03/2023

27/03/2023

19/02/2023

30/01/2023

15/01/2023

09/01/2023

04/01/2023

01/01/2023

01/01/2023

27/12/2022

23/12/2022

19/12/2022

05/12/2022

03/12/2022

29/11/2022

15/09/2022

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