Abstract
The following paper presents the first published record of the cryptic Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1877) from West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). This sole member of the family Lanthanotidae is endemic to Borneo. Since its description in 1877, all locality records of specimens refer to Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo). The recent discovery of this “living fossil†in an oil palm estate under development in Landak District expands its known distribution southward to Kalimantan. This paper (i) describes the circumstances of the discovery, characteristics of the individual and microhabitat structure in which it was found, (ii) provides results from local community interviews about the local distribution of the species, suggesting it is found more broadly in the Landak District and possibly elsewhere, and (iii) places this information in a broader context of current knowledge and high conservation value of L. borneensis.
Highlights
Bahasa Indonesia Abstract: Abstrak: Makalah berikut menjelaskan publikasi pertama kali dari Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1877) yang tersamar dari Kalimantan Barat (Borneo Indonesia)
The Borneo Earless Monitor Lanthanotus borneensis, a Bornean endemic previously known only from the coastal lowlands of northern Sarawak, exemplifies this concern (Image 1). This species was recently discovered during a biodiversity survey of an oil palm development area in the Landak District of West Kalimantan, expanding its known range southward into Kalimantan and a new bio-geographical sub-unit of the island (MacKinnon 1997). This paper reports this exceptional herpetofaunal discovery resulting from surveys commissioned by a member of the voluntary Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) initiative
Later authors further add that L. borneensis may perfectly resemble an ancestor of snakes, in having similarities with blind snakes, boids and colubrids, which emphasizes the hypotheses that snakes derived from the infraorder Varanoidea (Helodermatidae, Varanidae, Lanthanotidae)
Summary
Bahasa Indonesia Abstract: Abstrak: Makalah (paper) berikut menjelaskan publikasi pertama kali dari Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1877) yang tersamar dari Kalimantan Barat (Borneo Indonesia). Abstract: The following paper presents the first published record of the cryptic Borneo Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner, 1877) from West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).
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