Crotalaria andamanica: A new species of Rattlepod from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Rattlpods, Crotalaria spp., are a group of Leguminous Plants found throughout the tropics, though the majority are found in Africa (about 400 of about 700 known species). Their common name derives from the seed pods of the Plant, within which the seeds become loose as the pot matures and dries, so that the pod can be shaken to produce a rattling noise. Most Rattlepods are found growing wet grasslands, floodplains, and on swamp and river margins, though some species are found in drier environments. Several species of Rattlepod are cultivated, either as ornamentals or food crops. To date, 102 species of Rattlepod have been described from India, 10 of them from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In a paper published in the journal Taiwania on 5 March 2023, Fouziya Saleem of the Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre of the Botanical Survey of India, and Mansarovar Global University, Lal Ji Singh, also of the Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre of the Botanical Survey of India, and Arun Pandey, also of Mansarovar Global University, describe a new species of Rattlepod from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The new species is described on the basis of a specimen found growing at Tugapur on Middle Andaman Island by Fouziya Saleem in December 2021. It is given the name Crotalaria andamanica, where 'andamanica' refers to the area where it was found. 

Crotalaria andamanica: (A) Habit; (B) Standard petal; (C) Wing petals; (D) Keel; (E)-(F) Flower; (G) Leaf (Dorsal); (H) Leaf (Ventral); (I)-(J) Stipules; (K) Stem with hairs; (L) Calyx with intact androecium and gynoecium; (M)-(N) Calyx; (O) Geniculate Style and Stigma; (P) Bracteole; (Q)-(R) Pod; (S) Seeds. Fouziya Saleem in Saleem et al. (2024).

Crotalaria andamanica is a prostrate herbaceous plant, reaching about 1.5 m in height, with frequently branching stems with terminal racemes of yellow flowers. Leaves are approximately oval in shape and up to 2 cm long. Seed pods are 6-8 mm in length, and contain 15-16 seeds. The entire plant is covered in hairs.

Crotalaria andamanica: (A) Habit; (B) Flower; (C)-(D) Pod. Fouziya Saleem in Saleem et al. (2024).

Crotalaria andamanica was found growing at three different locations on Middle and South Andaman Islands, growing on gravelly soils in open wastelands, which were also home to Creeping Tick Trefoil, Desmodium triflorum, Morning Glory, Ipomoea spp., Sensitive Plant, Mimosa pudica, Nutsedges, Cyperus spp., and Jack-in-the-bush Plants, Chromolaena odorata.

Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands showing Distribution of the newly described species Crotalaria andamanica. Saleem et al. (2024).

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Lithocarpus tapanuliensis: A new species of Stone Oak from northern Sumatra, utilised as a food source by Orangutans.

The tropical rainforests of Sundaland (Bali, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and the surrounding small islands) form one of the most biologically megadiverse regions on Earth, with each landmass containing fragments of a larger forest which once covered the now largely submerged Sundaland landmass. The island of Sumatra, once considered to be too similar to Peninsula Malaysia to merit much study, is now recognised as one of the most diverse regions within Sundaland, possibly containing as many Plant species as the much larger island of Borneo; significantly more than the islands of Java or Sulawesi. The island is also home to a variety of Critically Endangered megafauna, including Sumatran Elephants, Elephas maximus sumatranus, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, Sunda Tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica, and Sumatran and Tapanuli Orangutans, Pongo abelii and Pongo tapanuliensis.

Stone Oaks, Lithocarpus spp., are currently considered to be the second largest genus within the Family Fagaceae, with about 347 named species (only the True Oaks, Quercus spp., have more, with around 600), including 32 species found on Sumatra, five of which are entirely endemic to the island. Stone Oaks are found across the island of Sumatra, found in all forest environments, although individual species tend to have limited elevation ranges, and the group is at its most diverse between 400 m and 700 m above sealevel. Fagacean trees, along with Laurels, Lauraceae, and Myrtles, Myrtaceae, form major components of the lower montane forests of Sumatra, between 900 m and 1500 m above sealevel, and eight species are known from the Sumatran upper montain forest, 1400-2500 m above sealevel.

The Batang Toru Ecosystem consists of a mosaic of mixed plantations and primary and secondary forests, with three remaining large forest blocks, the largest of which is the South Tapanuli Block, which forms the last refuge of the Critically Endangered Tapanuli Orangutan. 

In a paper published in the journal PhytoKeys on 20 October 2023, Try Surya Harapan of the Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute and  Center for Integrative Conservation at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, the Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Southeast Asia Biodiversity Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephants, and the Herbarium at Universitas Andalas, Wei Harn Tan of the Faculty of Science at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Thoriq Alfath Febriamansyah, Nurainas, and Syamsuardi, also of the Herbarium at Universitas Andalas, and Joeri Sergej Strijk of the Alliance for Conservation Tree Genomics at the Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden, describe a new species of Stone Oak from the South Tapanuli Block, observed to be a food source utilised by Tapanuli Orangutans. 

The new species is named Lithocarpus tapanuliensis, where 'tapanuliensis' means 'from Tapanuli'. It is a large forest tree, reaching 35 m without any buttresses. It's bark is greyish-green with whitish lenticels, fissured in place to form longitudinal slits exposing a dark red inner bark. Leaves are elliptic to oblong in shape, reaching 20 cm in length and 8.5 cm in width, dark green above, and fawnish green on the underside, which is covered with woolly hair. Flowering of the tree has not been observed, but acorns 1.9–2.3 cm in length are born in cups 2.8–3.4 cm in diameter.

Lithocarpus tapanuliensis. (A) Fresh fruits from field collection, (B) fresh fruits in the canopy, (C) bark and sapwood, (D) fresh leaves, (E) dried mature and immature infructescence, (F) base of tree next to an Animal wallow, (G) cupule- bottom view, top view and nut bottom view and cross-section. Harapan et al. (2023).

The species was discovered during a field survey carried out in February 2023; only two trees were observed, growing at an altitude of 894 m within Pilar Forest of the South Tapanuli Block. A number of collected acorn remnants showed signs of having been fed upon by Orangutans, and an Orangutan was observed nesting in a neighbouring tree (Orangutans tend to nest near to, but not in, food trees, to avoid being disturbed by other Animals when they sleep). The consumption of the acorns, leaves and bark of Fagaceaen trees by Orangutans has previously been recorded, although these is generally overlooked as a food source in studies of the Apes. It is likely that acorns serve as a reliable source of food during periods of fruit-scarcity, caused by the multi-annual fruiting cycles of many rainforest trees. Asian Black Bears, Ursus thibetanus, and Malayan Sun Bears, Helarctos malayanus, have also been observed consuming acorns during periods of low fruit abundance.

(A) Acorns consumed by Orangutan. (B) Orangutan nest in a neighbouring tree. Harapan et al. (2023).

Only two specimens of Lithocarpus tapanuliensis has been observed, both within Pilar Forest. This forest is small, lacks any legal protection, and extensive habitat alteration and forest clearance are occurring within the immediate area to where the trees were found. For this reason Harapan et al. recommend that Lithocarpus tapanuliensis be classified as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

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Quercus mangdenensis: A new species of Oak from Vietnam.

Oaks, Quercus spp., are a large and diverse group of deciduous and evergreen trees, found throughout the temperate woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere, and extending south into subtropical and even tropical areas in some areas. In Southeast Asia they form a significant component of tropical montane forests, with 52 species known from Vietnam alone, seven of which were described as new species within the past five years, suggesting that the diversity of the group in this area is still not fully understood.

In a paper published in the journal Phytokeys on 15 December 2022, Nguyen Van Ngoc and Hoang Thi Binh of the Faculty of Biology at Dalat University, describe a new species of Oak from Kon Tum Province, Vietnam.

The new Oak was discovered while carrying out fieldwork around the town of Mang Den in Kon Plong District, at the northern end of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The area has a cool tropical climate, with average temperatures varying between about 18.7 and 24.9°C over the course of the year, and a rainy season which lasts from August to February.

Type locality of Quercus mangdenensis. (A) Map of Vietnam. (B) Map of Kon Tum Province. (C) map of Kon Plong District, the red star indicated the type locality: Mang Den Town, Dak Long Commune. Ngoc & Binh (2022).

The new species is named Quercus mangdenensis, where 'mangdenensis' means 'from Mang Den'. It is an evergreen tree reaching 20-25 m high, with a trunk diameter of 60-80 cm. Leaves are lance-shaped with entire margins, and darker above than below. Bark is pale grey, except on the newest twigs, where it is green. Acorns are large, reaching 6-10.5 cm high and 4-5 cm wide. 

Quercus mangdenensis. (A) Twigs with young fruit. (B) Terminal buds. (C) Infructescences. (D) Fallen mature fruit. (E), (F) Adaxial and abaxial surface of the leaves. (G) Nuts. (H) Outside of cupule. (I) Densely reddish hairs inside of cupules. (J) Basal scar of the nut. (K), (L) Inside and outside of bud scale. Ngoc & Binh (2022).

Ngoc and Binh were able to find five subpopulations of Quercus mangdenensis, all growing at between 1050 and 1200 m above sealevel in fragmented evergreen forest. The area is under pressure from logging, farming and other Human activities, with the majority of the trees belonging to the new species on the border between forest clumps and farmland. For this reason Ngoc and Binh recommend that Quercus mangdenensis be classified as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

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Petaurista leucogenys: How the Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel selects its food.

Many arboreal (tree dwelling) Mammals are reliant on leaves as a food for at least part of the year, and some feed exclusively on such fodder. However leaves leaves are difficult food, as, unlike fruits or nectar, these are parts of the plant which the plant does not want eaten, and many plants put considerable effort into making their leaves as unpalatable as possible, minimising the amounts of nutrients stored in the leaves, defending them physically with tough fibres or spines, and packing them with toxins such as phenols or tannins. Leaf-eating Mammals avoid these defences by carefully selecting both which leaves and which parts of the leaves they consume, and choosing different food sources and feeding methods at different times of the year.

The Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista leucogenys, is a large arboreal Rodent (adults often reach 50 cm plus a meter-long tail) with a wing-membrane between its fore- and hindlimbs which enables it to glide between trees. It is found in sub-alpine forests and boreal evergreen forests on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu islands in Japan, as well as in Guangdong Province in China. It has a varied diet, which includes a variety of fruits, nuts, and flowers, but also includes leaves. Usefully, it is prone to detaching leaves before partially consuming them, then allowing partially consumed leaves with distinctive feeding traces to fall to the forest floor, where they can be picked up by interested scientists.

In a paper published in the journal Ecology and Evolution on 15 June 2017, Mutsumi Ito of the Department of Biology at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Noriko Tamura of the Tama Forest Science Garden, and Fumio Hayashi, also of the Department of Biology at Tokyo Metropolitan University, describe the results of a three-year study of the leaf-feeding behaviour of the Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel in the Tama Forest Science Garden.

A Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista leucogenys. 飯能に棲むいきものたちのこと.

Ito et al. collected leaves of two Oak species along a 2 km census route between one and five times a month between May 2013 and November 2015. These were the deciduous Sawtooth Oak, Quercus acutissima, and the evergreen Tsukubanegashi Oak, Quercus sessilifolia.

They found that while the leaves of the evergreen Quercus sessilifolia were the preferred food of the Squirrels in winter, they were seldom eaten in summer when the leaves of the deciduous Quercus acutissima were available. The leaves of the evergreen Quercus sessilifolia were almost always eaten apically, i.e. from the tip, while the leaves of the deciduous Quercus acutissima were eaten basally, or centrally, i.e. from the base or centre, with the tip being avoided.

Three types of leaf debris eaten by the Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel (Type A, apically eaten; Type B, basally eaten; Type C, only centrally eaten). The total length (Lt) and width (Lw) of intact leaves are measured, as well as the remaining length for basally (La) and apically (Lb) eaten leaves, and the maximum width of the centrally eaten circle (Ld) of leaf debris. All leaves shown are the evergreen Quercus sessilifolia. Ito et al. (2017).

Examination of the leaves in the laboratory revealed that those of Quercus acutissima had a far higher sugar content that those of Quercus sessilifolia. This explains the preference of the Squirrels for these leaves when they are available, as most Mammals preferentially select food that has a higher sugar content (is sweeter) as this relates directly to the energy available from the food. However, the leaves of Quercus acutissima also have far higher levels of phenols, toxic chemicals that Mammals generally avoid (though this is not the first time that leaf-eating Mammals have been shown to overcome an aversion to leaf toxins if the sugar content is high enough). Importantly the phenols in the leaves of Quercus acutissima were found to be concentrated around the tips of the leaves, which the Squirrels were consciously avoiding, showing that they were capable of adjusting their feeding behaviour to avoid toxins in a seasonally available food.

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Quercus meavei: A new species of Red Oak from the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico.

Oaks, Quercus spp., are one of the largest groups of trees today, forming an important part of the temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere, but reaching their most diverse in the tropical dry forests of Southeast Asia and Central America. Red Oaks of the Section Lobatae are endemic to the Americas. They are evergreens, with bristles or prickles on their leaves, and acorns born in scaly cups.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 3 August 2016, Susana Valencia-A of the Herbario de la Facultad de Ciencias at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Jose Luciano Sabas Rosales and Oscar Javier Soto Arellano of the Herbario of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía describe a new species of Red Oak from the  Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico.

The new species is named Quercus meavei in honour of Jorge Arturo Meave del Castillo, for his work on the botany of the cloud forests and other tropical zones of Mexico. It grows as a tree 20-30 m in height. The trees are found in temperate forests and Oak forests in areas of high humidity and along river banks in the Sierra Madre Oriental in Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz states, at altitudes of 1630–2250 m. The trees flower in March, with acorns maturing in September to November.

Quercus meavei, branchlet with leaves and fruits. Valencia-A et al. (2016).

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