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Helosis ruficeps (Ridl.) Eberwein

Helosis ruficeps is a parasitic plant from the family Balanophoraceae, known for its root parasitism. The genus name, Helosis, originates from the Greek word for a nail, denoting the peltate bracts of the plant. The specific epithet...

Ms. Siti Nur Fatinah Binti Khairi • 15 August 2024 • 34353 views

Terminalia catappa (Combretaceae)

Terminalia catappa, also known as Ketapang, is commonly found wild in coastal areas. The Latin name Terminalia refers to the leaves clustered at the ends of twigs. Meanwhile, the epithet name catappa comes from the original...

Mrs. Norzielawati Salleh • 31 July 2024 • 35046 views

Nephelium lappaceum L.

Rambutan, scientifically known as Nephelium lappaceum, comes from the root word ‘rambut’ in Malay which means hair, due to its hairy fruits. It is native to the Malay Peninsula, Borneo (including Sabah and Sarawak), the Sumatera ...

Ms. Nur Asma Fatin Umirah Binti Mahmud, Mrs. Sarah Nabila Binti Rosli & Mrs. Nurfarhana Hizan Binti Hijas • 15 July 2024 • 35557 views

Aquilaria hirta Ridl.

Aquilaria hirta is a tree species in the family Thymelaeaceae, locally known as ‘Karas’ or ‘Chandan bulu’ (Hassan et al., 2011). It occurs on the hill slopes of tropical lowland forests (Soehartono, 1999). Th...

Mr. Muhammad Alif Azyraf Bin Azmi • 28 June 2024 • 34910 views

Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merr.

Gynura procumbens, commonly known as “Sambung nyawa” in Malay or Leaves of the God, is a small, scrambling herbaceous plant from the family Asteraceae (Compositae) (POWO, 2024). “Sambung Nyawa”, which means prolongati...

Ms. Loh Weng Yi & Ms. Siti Nur Fatinah Binti Khairi • 31 May 2024 • 36684 views

Davallia denticulata (Burm. f.) Mett. ex Kuhn var. denticulata

Davallia denticulata var. denticulata is commonly known as the Rabbit foot fern because of its long-creeping, thick rhizome covered in reddish-brown and toothed hair-like scales (Tsutsumi & Kato, 2005;...

Ms. Yasmin Sarah Binti Abd. Majid • 30 April 2024 • 34655 views

Tragulus napu (F. Cuvier, 1822)

Tragulus napu, commonly known as the Greater Mouse Deer or Napuh in Malay, belongs to the Tragulidae family, a group of even-toed ungulates. This elusive animal is among the world’s smallest ungulate. T. napu has a he...

Mrs. Aziemah Binti Kinan • 29 March 2024 • 37349 views

Manilkara zapota (Sapotaceae)

The leaves are simple, quite thick, shiny and dark green, while the young shoots are brown and rough. They are alternate and spirally arranged at the end of the branch. Matured leaves, 3.5-15 cm long and 1.5-7 cm wide, are ovoid and tapered at the en...

Mrs. Syazwani Binti Azeman • 29 February 2024 • 34791 views

Sonerila griffithii C.B.Clarke (Melastomataceae)

Sonerila griffithii C.B.Clarke is a rare species originally described from Gunung Ledang, Johor. This is due to the fact that it is currently only known to occur from Kedah and Johor, which is the type locality. However, its global distribut...

Dr. Avelinah Julius & Siti Eisya Nabiha Damahuri • 31 January 2024 • 35102 views

Meistera lappacea (Ridl.) Škorničk. & M.F.Newman (Zingiberaceae)

Meistera lappacea, originally described from Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia, is also distributed in Java, Sumatra, and Thailand (POWO, 2023). It inhabits dense primary forests at high elevations, i.e., 1100–1500 m altitude. This species is ...

Siti Eisya Nabiha Damahuri & Dr. Avelinah Julius • 31 December 2023 • 34614 views

Ploiarium alternifolium (Bonnetiaceae)

Ploiarium alternifolium usually grows up to 10 m and rarely to 25 m tall, and the trunk diameter is 10-15 cm, depending on the locality. Plants growing in the river can grow only up to a height of 0.3 m, but those in swamps on peaty soil can...

Mrs. Syazwani Bt. Azeman • 15 December 2023 • 35396 views

Phaenicophaeus curvirostris (Shaw, 1810)

Phaenicophaeus curvirostris, known as the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, is a cuckoo belonging to the family Cuculidae (Avibase, 2018). The Chestnut-breasted Malkoha measures approximately 46 cm, including a 26 cm tail. It has a dark oily-green ...

Nurfahana Binti Mo`in & Ms. Nur Aina Amira Binti Mahyudin • 30 November 2023 • 36701 views

Chrysopelea paradisi (Boie, 1827)

Chrysopelea paradisi is a swift-moving snake from the family Colubridae. It is typically known as Paradise Flying Snake or sometimes called Paradise Tree Snake. The snake is native to Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, India, ...

Ms. Noor Faradiana Binti Md Fauzi & Mr. Mohammad Shahfiz Azman • 15 November 2023 • 38578 views

Piper sarmentosum Roxb. (Piperaceae)

Scientifically known as Piper sarmentosum, this plant is one of the climbing herbs in the Piperaceae family. The genus name Piper is pepper in Latin, and sarmentosum refers to the long slender twigs of this species...

Ms. Nur Asma Fatin Umirah Binti Mahmud, Mrs. Sarah Nabila Binti Rosli & Mrs. Nurfarhana Hizan Binti Hijas • 31 October 2023 • 36566 views

Begonia herveyana King

Begonia is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the family Begoniaceae. It is a large and diverse group of plants with over 2,000 species and 10,000 hybrid and cultivar varieties, making it one of the largest genera of flowering plant...

Mr. Tan Kok Kiat • 16 October 2023 • 35521 views

Pangium edule Reinw. (Achariaceae)

Pangium edule is a small to moderately large tree, growing up to 26 m tall. The green leaves are clustered or spirally arranged at the apex of branches or twigs with a long petiole. It is large in that the young leaves are heart-shaped while...

Mrs. Norzielawati Salleh • 29 September 2023 • 34956 views

Libellago aurantiaca (Selys, 1859)

Libellago belongs to the family Chlorocyphidae and a majority of the species are diminutive. The members of the family Chlorocyphidae are quite unique compared to the other damselfly families because their wings are longer than their abdomen...

Mrs. Nurfarhana Hizan Binti Hijas & Academician Dr. Choong Chee Yen • 15 September 2023 • 34222 views

Vallaris glabra (L) Kuntze (Apocynaceae)

Vallaris glabra is a large climber that thrives in well-drained soils with full sunlight. The flowers bloom in the morning, producing a fragrant scent similar to pandan leaves mixed with burnt rice. The strong scent is beli...

Mrs. Sarah Nabila Binti Rosli & Aida Hidayah • 31 August 2023 • 35990 views

Agropsar sturninus (Pallas, 1776)

Agropsar sturninus, commonly known as the Daurian starling or Purple-backed starling, is a fascinating small bird in the Family Sturnidae. This species is known to inhabit secondary forests, forest edges, open areas and plantations including...

Ms. Anis Zafirah Binti Zam Beri & Mr. Mohammad Shahfiz Azman • 31 July 2023 • 33771 views

Dracontomelon dao (Blanco) Merr. & Rolfe

Dracontomelon dao is an emergent tree or a large evergreen canopy tree growing up to 45 m tall, with a dense rounded crown. It has a straight and cylindrical bole, supported by steep and strong plank-like buttresses. The outer bark is greyis...

Mr. Nik Faizu Bin Nik Hassan & Mrs. Rafidah Abdul Rahman • 30 June 2023 • 35122 views

PARASITIC CYMOTHOIDS: A FISH’S NIGHTMARE

The above parasitic “tongue biter” is Cymothoa eremita collected from the host Nemipterus furcosus. The first collected specimen was from Malaysian waters (in Sarawak) by Anand et al. (2015, 20...

Dr. Melissa Beata Martin • 31 May 2023 • 35558 views

Pternandra echinata Jack (Melastomataceae)

Known as “Sial menahun” in Malay, Pternandra echinata, from the family Melastomataceae, is an evergreen, small to medium-sized tree that can grow up to 30 m tall. This tree is distributed in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapo...

Mrs. Syazwani Binti Azeman • 28 April 2023 • 34247 views

Calyptomena hosii (Sharpe, 1892)

Calyptomena hosii, commonly called Hose's Broadbill, is a bird classified under Family Calyptomenidae. It is an endemic species in Borneo. The distribution of this species is restricted to the hill and submontane mixed dipterocarp fores...

Ms. Noor Faradiana Binti Md Fauzi & Mr. Mohammad Shahfiz Azman • 31 March 2023 • 35179 views

Shorea sumatrana (Sloot. ex Thorenaar) Sym. ex Desch. (Dipterocarpaceae)

A species, Shorea sumatrana is distributed from Sumatra, Peninsular Thailand, and Peninsular Malaysia. Hence, the species epithet, sumatrana refers to Sumatra, which was one of the locations where this plant was found (Flora & F...

Mrs. Norzielawati Bt. Salleh • 28 February 2023 • 36493 views

Buceros bicornis Great hornbill

The Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) is also known as the concave-casqued hornbill or great pied hornbill. It can be found in south-west India, south China and Indochina south to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra (Indonesia). The Great Hornbi...

Mr. Muhammad Faris Bin Mohd Ridza & Mr. Tan Kok Kiat • 31 January 2023 • 39492 views