Borneo Clouded Leorpard

Borneo Clouded Leopard With Largest Fangs in Cat World

2008-07-07T09:58:00.000+08:00

New species: The Bornean clouded leopard

Long thought to be identical to the clouded leopards living on mainland South East Asia, genetic analysis has shown that the Bornean big cat is in fact a separate species.

Scientists have counted at least 40 key differences in the DNA of the two felines - making the two species of clouded leopard almost as different as a lion is to a tiger.

Some of the differences are clear to the naked eye, with the elliptical spots or 'clouds' which give it its name, being smaller and darker on the island variety.

The Bornean clouded leopard also has darker fur than its mainland cousin.

Dr Andrew Kitchener, of National Museums Scotland, said: "The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard with the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were comparing two different species.

"It's incredible that no one has ever noticed these differences."

The research, which forms part of the WWF's Heart of Borneo conservation project, brings the number of new species to have emerged from the island's jungles in the last year to over 50.

Plants and animals new to science include two species of tree frog and 30 types of fish, including a catfish with an adhesive belly that allows it to stick to rocks.

The scientists say the remote, and for a long time, inaccessible, forests of the world's third largest island are one of the 'final frontiers for science - a Lost World that must be preserved from threats from the logging and rubber industries.

The Heart of Borneo, an 84,000 square mile, wild, mountainous region, covered with equatorial rain forest in the centre of the island, is the last great home of the Bornean clouded leopard.

The island's most fearsome predator, the clouded leopard has the longest canine teeth of any feline, with fully-grown cats boasting fangs that are up to two-inches long.

Only the long-extinct sabre-tooth tiger had longer canine teeth for its body size.

Tails as long as their bodies allow the secretive and solitary creatures to balance in trees, where they perch to pounce on their prey.

Monkeys, barking deer and bearded pigs can be killed with a single bite, with the leopard having no fear of seeking out prey that is bigger than itself.

Such adept hunting skills put the clouded leopard, which at 35 inches from head to start of tail is about the size of a small Labrador, right at the top of the island's food chain.

Stuart Chapman, of the Heart of Borneo programme, said: "Who said a leopard can never change its spots?

"For over a hundred years, we have been looking at this animal and never realised it is unique.

"The fact that Borneo's top predator is now considered a separate species further emphasises the importance of conserving the Heart of Borneo."

It is thought there are up to 11,000 of the new species of clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi on Borneo and a further 3,000 to 7,000 on the neighbouring island of Sumatra.

It is estimated the Bornean and Sumatran populations broke away from mainland populations around 1.4 million years ago.

Some Leopard facts:

With a body that measures just over a foot, the clouded leopard is the smallest of the 'big cats'.

It is also the best tree-climber, with flexible ankle joints and keen claws allowing it to run down tree trunks head first. It can run along the underside of branches and hang by the back feet alone - freeing up their front paws to snatch at prey.

Its two-inch canine teeth are the longest of any living feline and lead to comparisons with the long-extinct sabre-tooth tiger.

Its jaws can open wider than those of any other cat and the fangs are as big as a tiger's, even although tigers are ten times bigger.

They often ambush their prey from the treetops, landing on the taget's back before delivering one fatal bite.

The young, which are born with solid spots, rather than mottled 'clouds', are weaned at five months and become independent at nine months.

The creatures, which live up to 11 years in the wild and 17 in captivity, emit calls ranging from pet cat-like purrs, to roars, growls and hisses.

Although protected by law, the clouded leopard is still hunted for its beautiful pelt and the supposed healing powers of its bones and teeth.

Scientists find Borneo's clouded leopards to be new species

2008-07-07T09:47:00.000+08:00

GENEVA, March 15 Kyodo

U.S. scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat, the conservationist group WWF International announced Thursday.

The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia, based on their general physical appearance.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity in Maryland found genetic differences between the two types to be equivalent to or greater than those between lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars.

In terms of appearance, the clouded leopards in Borneo and Sumatra have small cloud markings with many distinct spots within the clouds. They are darker in color than those of the mainland, which have larger cloud markings with fewer spots within the clouds.

''For over a hundred years we have been looking at this animal and never realized it was unique,'' Stuart Chapman, international coordinator of the WWF's Heart of Borneo program, was quoted as saying.

''The fact that Borneo's top predator is now considered a separate species further emphasizes the importance of conserving one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth,'' he said.

The news comes just a few weeks after a WWF report showed that scientists had identified at least 52 new species of animals and plants over the past year on Borneo.

WWF roughly estimates there are between 5,000 and 11,000 Bornean clouded leopards and between 3,000 to 7,000 Sumatran ones.

With the reclassification, the scientific name of the clouded leopard from the mainland remains Neofelis nebulosa, while the clouded leopard from Borneo and Sumatra is now called Neofelis diardi.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Bornean Clouded Leopard

2008-06-07T16:31:00.001+08:00

The Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) is a medium-sized wild cat found on Borneo, Sumatra and the Batu Islands in the Malay Archipelago and publicised under that name by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on March 14, 2007. Its coat is marked with irregularly-shaped, dark-edged ovals which are said to be shaped like clouds, hence its common name. Though scientists have known of its existence since the early 19th century, it was positively identified as being a distinct species in its own right in 2006, having long been believed to be a subspecies of the mainland Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). WWF quoted Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the U.S. National Cancer Institute as saying, "Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopard of Borneo should be considered a separate species".

Habitat

N. diardi's preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical forest at altitudes up to about 2,000 metres (6,500 ft).

Behaviour

The habits of the Bornean Clouded Leopard are largely unknown because of the animal's secretive nature. It is assumed that it is generally a solitary creature.

Etymology and taxonomic history

Despite its name, the Bornean Clouded Leopard is not closely related to the leopard. The species was named Neofelis diardi in honor of French naturalist and explorer Pierre-Médard Diard; in the 19th century Felis diardii designated the Clouded Leopard/Bornean Clouded Leopard, colloquially "Diard's Cat". The local names, "Macan Dahan" in Indonesian and "Harimau Dahan" in Malay (also reported historically in Sumatra), mean "tree branch tiger".

The species was long regarded as a subspecies of the Clouded Leopard, named Neofelis nebulosa diardi. In December 2006, two articles in the journal Current Biology detailed a strong case for reclassifying and redefining two distinct species of Clouded Leopard: Neofelis nebulosa from mainland Asia and Neofelis diardi from the Malay archipelago, except Peninsular Malaysia. A UK study led by Andrew C. Kitchener detailed geographical variations in the Clouded Leopard, indicating a split of two species. The results of a morphometric analysis of the pelages of fifty-seven Clouded Leopards sampled throughout the genus' wide geographical range concluded that there were two distinct morphological groups, differing primarily in the size of their cloud markings. Another study led by Valerie A. Buckley-Beason cited molecular evidence for the species-level distinction of the Clouded Leopard, although the study only used DNA samples from the Bornean population and mainland Asia and not from the Sumatran population. The genetics study found differences in the molecular genetic analyses (mtDNA, nuclear DNA sequences, microsatellite variation, and cytogenetic differences) of the different species of Clouded Leopard. Among the molecular disparities between the two species were thirty-six fixed mitochondrial and nuclear nucleotide differences and 20 microsatellite loci with nonoverlapping allele-size ranges. The study stated that the degree of differentiation was similar to the differences between the five Panthera species, thus concluding that Neofelis diardi is a separate species from Neofelis nebulosa.

Evolutionary history

The genetic analysis of Neofelis nebulosa and Neofelis diardi suggest the two species diverged 1.4 million years ago, after the animals used a now submerged land bridge to reach Borneo and Sumatra from mainland Asia.

Conservation

Because the Bornean Clouded Leopard's habits make it difficult to study, exact figures of its population do not exist. However, recent studies estimate the population to be between 5,000 and 11,000 great cats left on Borneo, and 3,000 to 7,000 on Sumatra. In the countries of its native range, hunting of the Clouded Leopard is prohibited. However, these bans are very poorly enforced.

A recent study conducted in 2006, focusing on classifying tracks found in Sabah (northeastern Borneo), placed an estimate on the population: 1,500–3,200 cats in Sabah, with only 275–585 of them in large protected reserves.

Encroachment upon and complete destruction of the Bornean Clouded Leopards' natural habitat, primarily by logging and the creation of rubber and palm oil plantations, continues to threaten the whole fauna of Borneo.

Borneo Clouded Leopard Video

2008-03-30T09:53:00.000+08:00