Visiting Scientist Feature: Dr. Jan-Frits Veldkamp

Recently, we hosted Dr. Jan-Frits Veldkamp from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden. Dr. Veldkamp is a botanist with a research focus on the grasses of Southeast Asia, with a career that has spanned over 50 years.

He was here to examine grass specimens in the Singapore University Herbarium (SINU), as part of the research for a book about the herbaceous grasses of Singapore that he is working on, under the Flora of Singapore project by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

This was Dr. Veldkamp’s second visit this year; he was at the museum for a few days in April for the Flora of Singapore project. This second visit was for him to finish examining all the grass specimens in the SINU, and over the course of his two-week visit, he examined around 1,000 herbaceous grass specimens.

A Whole New World

His interest in botany started after a biology lesson in high school, where he was taught to identify different plants.

“After the lesson, I realised that I could identify the different types of plants that were around me, plants that the average person will not take a second look at,” he said.

“It felt like the world was different,” he added.

A Botanist’s Eye

Dr. Veldkamp keeps a lookout for plants everywhere he goes—during his visit, he spotted an uncommon type of grass (Panicum laxum) while on his way to lunch, at a grass patch near the museum.

The patch of grass, located off a walkway, is nondescript; most people walking by would not even notice it. However, Dr. Veldkamp noticed a few plants located in a far corner, and discovered the uncommon grass growing there. He then collected a few specimens, and deposited them in SINU.

Dr. Veldkamp examining Panicum laxum grasses near LKCNHM. Photo by Clarisse Tan.

During his visit here, a previously unknown grass specimen in the SINU was also identified by Dr. Veldkamp to be Acroceras tonkinense. This finding greatly excited him, as the last known specimen of the grass found in Singapore is dated all the way back to the year 1822, whereas the newly identified specimen was collected in 1999—a gap of 177 years.

We wish Dr. Veldkamp all the best in his research, and hope to see him again soon.

Visiting Scientist Feature: Dr. Evan Quah

A while back, we hosted Dr. Evan Quah from Universiti Sains Malaysia, who was here to examine snake specimens in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC).

Dr. Quah is a herpetologist with a research focus on the systematics and biogeography of Malaysian herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles). He is also an Associate Editor (Herpetology) for the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, a peer-reviewed, open access journal published by LKCNHM. During his visit here, he examined about 60 snake specimens in the ZRC, as part of his ongoing research on snake diversity in Peninsular Malaysia.

Dr. Quah at his workstation in the LKCNHM research lab. Photo by Tan Heok Hui.

Childhood Passion

Dr. Quah’s interest in snakes and reptiles began from childhood, where he was “somehow drawn” to the creatures, and even kept reptiles as pets in his home.

His research takes him places far and wide for field work—such as camping out in the Cambodian wilderness for a week looking for snakes.

Due to their speed and ability to camouflage amongst vegetation, snakes are rather difficult to spot, especially to the untrained eye. However, years of experience in the field, as well as a “natural instinct” have made it easier for Dr. Quah to spot snakes while out on field work.

Poisonous Misunderstanding

In general, snakes are commonly perceived to be dangerous animals. However, Dr. Quah asserts that the “highly interesting” creatures are more than just their bad reputation.

“They have no limbs, but yet are capable of living in every single habitat, except for the extreme polar regions,” he said.

Some species of snakes also possess the ability to ‘fly’. In Singapore, Chrysopelea paradisi—also known as the paradise tree snake or flying tree snake—is able to glide from tree to tree by flattening its body and launching in the air like a parachute.

Snakes too play an important role in the ecosystem. They act as a natural form of pest control by preying on harmful insects, as well as pests such as mice and rats.

Unanswered Questions

This is not Dr. Quah’s first visit to the museum, having visited back when the museum was at its old premises. He said that his 8-day visit here was highly fruitful.

However, Dr. Quah also mentioned that while there is plenty of research on snake taxonomy, still not much is known about the behaviour and ecology of snakes in Southeast Asia.

“There are still lots of questions that have yet to be answered,” he said.

We look forward to the interesting findings on snakes that come from Dr. Quah’s research, as well as that from any (current and future) herpetologists!

Public Talk: Foraminifera in the abyssal nodule fields of Singapore exploration area, eastern equatorial Pacific

Professor Andrew Gooday has worked extensively on Foraminifera (a kind of Protozoa) and participated in numerous deep sea research over the span of his career. This talk will focus on his research on Foraminifera that were discovered in the abyssal nodule fields in the Singapore exploration area of the Clarion Clipperton Zone.

Title of Seminar:	Foraminifera in the abyssal nodule fields of Singapore exploration area, eastern equatorial Pacific
Speaker:	Prof Andrew Gooday
Date:	29 September 2017 (Friday)
Time:	7pm (refreshments provided at 6.30 pm)
Venue:	Learning Lab 2, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, NUS

Please refer to the poster for details and click here to RSVP. Thank you.

Research Highlights – August 2017

We feature some new research from our resident carcinologists, published recently in August.

A star is born (Pariphiculus stellatus Ng & Jeng, 2017)

This new species of crab possesses peculiar star-shaped tubercles on its body—which is why it was given the epithet, stellatus, which means ‘star-like’ or ‘starry’ in Latin. The new crab species was described in a paper written by Prof. Peter K. L. Ng (Head, LKCNHM) and Dr. Ming-Shiou Jeng (Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan), and published in the journal, ZooKeys.

The crab was collected from a seamount near Peng-Chia-Yu Island, in northern Taiwan, in a regulated fishing zone for red corals [Note: The skeletons of red corals (Anthozoa: Coralliidae) are highly prized and are used to make jewelry.]

The new species has also been found previously in Japan and the Philippines, but the specimens from those places were either not identified to species or were misidentified as a similar-looking species, P. agariciferus. It was only recently, after close comparison with a larger set of specimens from different areas in the western Pacific region, that the differences came to light. Besides the peculiarly shaped tubercles, P. stellatus can be distinguished from P. agariciferus by its larger size and by differences in the form of the carapace, pincers and male genitalia.

Interestingly, all the specimens of P. stellatus were collected by fishermen using hand-operated tangle nets. The authors speculate that this may be the reason why it was not discovered previously by conventional marine biodiversity surveys, which tend to use ship-towed trawls and dredges to sample the sea floor.

Read the paper here:

Ng PKL, Jeng M-S (2017) Notes on two crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura, Dynomenidae and Iphiculidae) collected from red coral beds in northern Taiwan, including a new species of Pariphiculus Alcock, 1896. ZooKeys, 694: 135–156.

Michael’s crab (Sundathelphusa miguelito Mendoza & Sy, 2017)

This new species of freshwater crab, from the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, came to the attention of our curator of crustaceans, Dr. Jose C. E. Mendoza, through a collaboration with Manila-based herpetologist and conservationist, Mr. Emerson Y. Sy (Philippine Center for Terrestrial and Aquatic Research).

Mr. Sy had previously sent some crab specimens to Dr. Mendoza for identification, including some that were purchased from an ambulant fish vendor in the town of Lake Sebu, in South Cotabato Province. Apparently, the crabs were being sold as food by the bagful to locals and to the neighbouring towns. After some comparison with the known species from Mindanao, the crabs were found to be a new species of Sundathelphusa, a freshwater crab genus occurring in the Philippines, East Malaysia and Indonesia.

The new species has been described in a paper published in the journal, Crustaceana, as part of the Michael Türkay Memorial Issue. This special issue is the latest tribute to the late Professor Türkay, the eminent Curator of Crustacea at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Dr. Mendoza and Mr. Sy gave the new species the epithet, miguelito, from a Spanish/Filipino endearment which means “little Michael”.

Sought for comment about this latest addition to the freshwater crab fauna of the Philippines, Dr. Mendoza remarked that he and his colleagues “have barely scratched the surface”, and that there are probably more species “hiding in plain sight” and waiting to be named and described.

Read the abstract here:

Mendoza JCE, Sy EY (2017) Sundathelphusa miguelito, a new species of freshwater crab from the southern Philippines (Brachyura, Gecarcinucidae). Crustaceana, 90(7–10): 1039–1053.

Short Course: Biodiversity of True Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) 26–29 Oct 2017 at LKCNHM

Our museum’s bug scientist, Dr. Hwang Wei Song will be conducting a short course on True Bugs with international bug specialists at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum this October.

Click to enlarge poster

Dates: 26–29 Oct 2017 (Thu–Sun)
Venue: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, NUS
Limited to 15 participants

Instructors:
Dr. HWANG, Wei Song (National University of Singapore)
Dr. TRAN, Anh Duc (Vietnam National University, Hanoi)
Dr. WEIRAUCH, Christiane (University of California, Riverside)

REGISTRATION DETAILS

WHY? True Bugs (>42,000 species) include plant and nuisance pests, beneficial insects, medically important disease vectors, and have astounding morphological and ecological diversity. True Bugs are COOL!

WHERE & WHEN? An intensive 4 full-day Short Course in Singapore, National University of Singapore, on 26–29 October 2017 (Thu–Sun).

WHAT? Learn about True Bug biodiversity through a series of lectures, lab sessions, and a field trip. Participants will gain a broad familiarization of the various groups of True Bugs from this training course.

WHO? Undergraduate/graduate students, researchers, and naturalists.

Application: The course is limited to 15 participants. No registration fee, but participants are responsible for their own travel, accommodation, and meals (except final day dinner).

Limited number of travel stipends are available for participants from outside Singapore (up to USD$400 per person). Stipends are given on an award basis.

Application deadline: 22 September 2017

Register by sending a cover letter and your CV to: nhmevents@nus.edu.sg.
Your cover letter should explain how this course can benefit your current professional training, academic or otherwise. Successful applicants will be notified by email.

Visiting Scientist Feature: Dr. Daniel Edison M. Husana

Recently, we hosted Dr. Daniel Edison M. Husana, associate professor from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, who was here to examine freshwater crab specimens in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC). Dr. Husana’s research focuses on animals that reside in caves, such as cave crabs and cave fish.

Dr. Husana at his workstation in the LKCNHM research lab. Photo by Tan Heok Hui.

Adventurous Spirit

Why cave animals (troglobites/stygobites)?

According to Dr. Husana, it is due to a love for adventure that sparked from childhood. Growing up, he has always loved thrill-seeking activities such as climbing mountains, and cave exploration brings about this sense of adventure within him.

“You don’t know what you’re going to find,” said Dr. Husana, “it’s a mystery each time.”

However, fieldwork can be very tough. Dr. Husana said that sometimes, he has to hike for a few hours just to get to the entrance of the cave, before spending another few hours inside. Once, he spent three days inside a cave, sleeping on mats that he placed on the cave floor.

The temperature inside the cave is also cold, and at times, they have to wade in icy cold water or crawl through narrow spaces just to navigate within the cave.

Nonetheless, fieldwork is also rewarding, as there are many discoveries to be found within the cave. Also, the scenery on the hike up can also be very beautiful, with views of nature and waterfalls along the way.

Dr. Husana doing fieldwork in a cave. Photo by Daniel Edison M. Husana.

Living in the Dark

Within the cave, however, lies a different view. Deep and dark, there is no way of seeing anything without wearing a headlamp.

As animals residing in caves (e.g., the false spider crab) can be very small, a keen sense of sight is required to be able to spot them.

Due to the darkness within the cave, cave crabs have evolved a heightened sense of smell and touch giving rise to long antennae and walking legs. They also have smaller or missing eyes as they have little to no use of their sight while living in the dark.

As there is hardly any food inside the cave, some cave crabs survive on a diet of guano, or bat faeces, which is rich in organic matter. Incidentally, guano is also a precious commodity for farmers, who use it as fertiliser for their crops.

False spider crab, Samarplax principe, discovered from a cave in the Philippines. Photo by Daniel Edison M. Husana.

New Discoveries

Dr. Husana is no stranger to the museum, with this visit being his third. It is, however, his first time visiting the new museum premises.

Dr. Husana was invited by crustacean curator (Dr. JCE Mendoza) to work on Philippine freshwater crab taxonomy, particularly the genus Sundathelphusa. During his month-long stay here funded by a LKCNHM research fellowship, Dr. Husana examined freshwater crab specimens in the ZRC, and compared them to the specimens collected during his fieldwork in the Philippines.

He said that the visit had been fruitful, having discovered a few species that are new to science. He added that he had also gained a better understanding of the freshwater crab fauna of the Philippines as a result of the visit.

We look forward to the results of Dr. Husana’s research, and hope to see him again!

 

Zootaxa paper by Dr. Husana, Dr. Tan Swee Hee from LKCNHM, as well as Dr. Tomoki Kase, on a new genus and species of stygobitic crab found in the Philippines: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt03109p059.pdf

Fun Rocks @ LKCNHM

Join us for a day of fun and activities on 11 November 2017 at Fun Rocks! Learn how to make cute animal-shaped soap or have a bouncing good time at our inflatable jungle!

Tickets to the carnival are available for sale at $10 per ticket, which also includes admission into the museum as well as coupons to spend on food and games at the carnival!

For enquires on how to purchase your carnival ticket, please contact nhmvisit@nus.edu.sg. Do hurry as tickets are while stock lasts!

Fun Rocks is organised by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in support of the NUS Science Merit Scholarship. Through leadership development, mentorship and community service programmes, the NUS Science Merit Scholarship aims to help students to realise their potential while nurturing the value of giving back to society.

 

Visiting Scientist(s) Feature: Mammalogist Edition

In this feature, we give a short summary of the work of two mammalogists that have visited the museum a while back.

Mr. Lim Tze Tshen

Mr. Lim at his workstation in the LKCNHM research lab. Photo by Clarisse Tan.

Mr. Lim Tze Tshen is a research associate at the University of Malaysia, focusing on biodiversity conservation and vertebrate palaeontology.

As a palaeontologist, Mr. Lim studies fossils, from common ones such as the fossils of wild pigs, to rare ones like gibbon fossils.

Last year, a gibbon fossil that is estimated to be around half a million years old was found in Peninsula Malaysia. It was initially difficult to identify, but they were able to identify it as a gibbon fossil by comparing one intact tooth present in the fossil with existing gibbon dental records.

But there is another question – what species of gibbon is it?

In order to answer this question, Mr. Lim was here to examine the morphology of gibbon skulls in the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC), and compare it to the gibbon fossil, in order to identify its species. During his 4-day visit, Mr. Lim examined around 120 gibbon skulls from the ZRC, and found the answer to the mystery. We wish Mr. Lim all the best for his next fossil adventure.

 

Dr. Alexander Balakirev

Dr. Balakirev at his workstation in the LKCNHM research lab. Photo by Clarisse Tan.

Dr. Alexander Balakirev is a mammalogist from the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences, with a research focus on small mammals such as treeshrews and rodents.

Why small mammals in particular? Dr. Balakirev jokes that as he does not have the sharp eyesight to peer at tiny insects and extremely good physical endurance to chase after large animals such as wolves, research on small mammals is just the right fit for him.

During his visit here, Dr. Balakirev examined the morphology of over 100 treeshrew specimens from the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC), as part of his research on treeshrew specimens from Vietnam. Dr. Balakirev mentioned plans to return to do more work on our mammal collection, and we certainly look forward to hosting him again.

 

P.S. Dr. Balakirev, along with two other co-authors, recently published a research paper in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, describing a new species of marmoset rat from southern Vietnam (click here to read).

Job Opportunity: Research Associate/Fellow – Executive Secretary, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)

We are looking for a research associate or fellow to run activities of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).

Description

The ICZN Secretariat is currently based in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This position is a one year contract (renewable). Salary and benefits will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

 The Executive Secretary of the ICZN (as “Secretary” in the following) is the only permanent staff of the ICZN Secretariat and is responsible for running the ICZN’s daily activities. The Secretary has four main roles:

1. Communication. The Secretary responds to enquiries from the public, and where not immediately possible, refers the matter to an appropriate member of the Commission. The Secretary also ensures that information on the Commission’s online media outlets is up-to-date. The Secretary handles the transmission of information between NUS and the ICZN (viz., reports and finances);
2. Editing. The Secretary acknowledges all submissions to the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, works with the Editor-in-Chief to have these submissions reviewed, copy-edited upon acceptance, typeset by an external printer, proofed by the authors and published online (currently via Biotaxa and BioOne) as well as on the ICZN’s website. The Secretary is also responsible for preparing the text of the Opinions resulting from the regular voting on ICZN Cases and having them reviewed by relevant ICZN members. The Secretary also prepares successive instalments of the official lists and indexes;
3. Administration. The Secretary is responsible for administrative duties arising in the routine activities of the ICZN. These include organising of and reporting on the regular voting on ICZN Cases as well as votes on other ICZN matters (amendments to the Code and Constitution; changes to the Bylaws), handling all Bulletin subscription matters (with the exception of receiving subscription monies), organising of meetings, recording of the minutes of meetings and the organising of and reporting on elections (Council and Commission); and
4. Finance. The Secretary is responsible for working with the ICZN President to plan the Secretariat’s expenditure for each financial year to ensure sufficient funds for all activities. The Secretary also ensures that donations are registered with and processed by NUS. The Secretary is not responsible for any form of fundraising activities.

 

 Qualifications

 Potential candidates for the position as ICZN Executive Secretary will be expected to have the following qualifications:

1. MSc or PhD degree in a relevant discipline;
2. A demonstrated knowledge of and interest in the field of taxonomy and nomenclature;
3. Excellent skills in:
   – Scientific publication;
   – Copy-editing;
   – Written and oral communication using English;
   – Organization of international networks;
   – Interpersonal interactions; and
4. Demonstrated familiarity with tools for electronic communication, both with individuals and for groups.

Shortlisted candidates may be required to attend an interview with ICZN Officers in Singapore, the costs of which will have to be borne by the candidates.

To apply, go to: https://nuscareers.taleo.net/careersection/nusep/jobdetail.ftl?job=006GK

An Eye-Popping Discovery in Southeast Asian Assassin Bug Biodiversity

Physoderes fuliginosa (left), dorsal view; with Physoderes minime (right). Photo by Hwang Wei Song.

Two pop culture characters, Popeye the Sailor and Mini-Me from the Austin Powers comedy movie series, are now linked in eternity in circumstances most unusual – having assassin bugs named after them.

Paraphysoderes popeye and Physoderes minime are two new assassin bug species that were named by LKCNHM Museum Officer Dr. Hwang Wei Song, together with Prof. Christiane Weirauch from the University of California, Riverside, in a recently published European Journal of Taxonomy research article.

The quirky names were given to describe the odd morphology of the bugs — Paraphysoderes popeye has enlarged fore-arms, similar to its namesake, while Physoderes minime looks like a miniature version of a larger known species — Physoderes fuliginosa.

“These names popped up naturally as perfect descriptors of how they look,” said Dr. Hwang, the lead author of the paper.

These two pop-culturally referenced names are among the 15 new assassin bug species named in the monographic piece of work published last week. Not only did the paper reveal the species richness found in the eastern hemisphere, spanning from Madagascar to the Fiji Islands, it also introduced a revised classification of these assassin bugs that more accurately reflects the rich diversity.

Paraphysoderes popeye, dorsal view. Photo by Hwang Wei Song.

Decade-long Quest

The task of clarifying and sorting out the taxonomy of this group of tiny, “rather unassuming-looking” assassin bugs known as physoderines, has been a long and arduous journey, starting 10 years ago in 2007, when Dr. Hwang began his PhD studies.

It required the consolidation of over 900 assassin bug specimens from various natural history museums across the world for side-by-side comparisons, visiting museums to check on type specimens, and a detailed computational analysis of their characteristics to determine their evolutionary relationships.

The fact that all 15 new species were discovered from specimens in natural history museum collections highlights the value and relevance of such historical collections to better understand our natural environment.

“These physoderine assassin bugs are miniscule, no bigger than a fingernail, well camouflaged in their natural habitat among vegetation and rotting logs, and extremely difficult to find in the wild,” said Dr. Hwang.

“It would have required my entire lifetime, and probably more, to be able to amass the same number of individuals to study, across such varied landscapes, from the foothills of the Western Ghats in India, across the whole of Southeast Asia, to the tip of Papua New Guinea and beyond.”

Dr. Hwang credits the strong support extended to him by the natural history museum curators and the helpful information shared among assassin bug researchers worldwide in helping to solve the many “taxonomic mysteries and riddles” peppered within this group.

Previously, Madagascar was regarded as an exceptional place for physoderine assassin bugs as they have radiated on the island similar to how lemur diversity flourished there, while the rest of the eastern hemisphere was regarded as rather uneventful. The new study shows that much of the diversity in Southeast Asia is still awaiting discovery, with Borneo and Papua New Guinea islands being hotspots for more species yet known.

To wrap the story up, Dr. Hwang did finally get to come face to face with a live physoderine assassin bug when he encountered Physoderes minime during field work in the Philippines late last year, on top of a dormant volcano.

“It was just hanging around on the base of a tree beside the forest trail, on a rather dreary late afternoon,” he said.

But to him, the thrill of the find was indescribable.

“I will never forget that moment.”

Original paper: Hwang, W.S., Weirauch, C. 2017. Uncovering hidden biodiversity: phylogeny and taxonomy of Physoderinae (Reduviidae, Heteroptera), with emphasis on Physoderes Westwood in the Oriental and Australasian regions. European Journal of Taxonomy 341: 1–118.