# Borneo - Sabah, Sarawak



## Dark Raptor

Two years ago I was able to realize the dream of my life. I spent a month in the rainforests of Borneo, hiking, eating, sleeping and taking pictures ... I put here a small part of my (and my wife's) work. We took more than 8,000 pictures with many, many animals and plants.






_Oecophylla smaragdina_






_Hemithyrsocera_ sp.






_Orisma ichneumon_






Ground gecko, defensive position 






_Systella_ sp. 






_Rafflesia keithi_






Oxyopidae






Unidentified toad






_Batocera victoriana_






_Homo sapiens_ (me) and "small" spider web (there were also many times larger webs in the area, but the light wasn't good enough to take their pics).

Reactions: Like 15


----------



## persistent

Wow! Impressive pictures  Def a trip I'd like to do one day


----------



## Dark Raptor

Yes. This place is really worth to see. In the next 10-20 years, most of the Borneo rainforests will be destroyed.

More pictures...






Kinabalu National Park






_Scutigera _sp.






_Dorcus _sp.






_Rhinocochlis nasuta_






Flatidae bug






Unknown Salticidae






Mycetophagous Diplopoda






Rainforest from the air.






_Heliconia _sp.






_Gasteracantha _sp.

Reactions: Like 7


----------



## Spepper

That is one beautiful green snail!  (And so is everything else!)


----------



## Dark Raptor

Spepper said:


> That is one beautiful green snail!  (And so is everything else!)


Thanks. I also found this, very rare green semi-slug. Described in 2008.






_Ibycus rachelae_






_Gasteracantha arcuata_






Unknown lizard






Crab






_Haaniella grayii_






_Heterometrus_ sp.






_Odontolabis_ sp.






Unknown mantis






_Pseudochalcothea_ sp.






Sparassidae

Reactions: Like 12


----------



## tarcan

some wonderful shots, thank you for sharing!


----------



## Philth

Great stuff!

Later, Tom


----------



## syndicate

Very nice photos thanks for sharing!I really want to visit Borneo one day!!!
-Chris


----------



## jbm150

Absolutely magnificent pictures, thank you so much for posting them!  You're not just good at taking pictures, you're a great photographer.  Hope to see much more!


----------



## Big B

Thanks for sharing and I am happy that you had a dream come true. =)
Awesome pictures!!


----------



## Dark Raptor

Thank you very much  I should mention, that many of these pictures were also taken by my wife (we are both biologists-photographers) 



syndicate said:


> Very nice photos thanks for sharing!I really want to visit Borneo one day!!!
> -Chris


You have to hurry, rainforests of Borneo dissapear very quickly. This image doesn't need any comment: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary...neo-1950-2005-and-projection-towards-2020.png

Ok, a bit more... I've got a lot of this stuff 






_Diastocera wallichii_






Unknown shieldbug






_Pycanum rubens_ nymph






Adult _Pycanum rubens_






Gecko






Glomeridae






Unknown jumping spider






_Duliticola_ sp.






Probably _Haplopelma doriae_, male.






_Camponotus gigas_, probably the largest ant on Earth.

[Youtube]oZTPFBqputg[/Youtube]
And movie with that ant, recorded in Mulu National Park.

Reactions: Like 12


----------



## korg

Wow, great thread. Those Duliticola beetles are absolutely amazing.


----------



## Dark Raptor

Thanks 


korg said:


> Those Duliticola beetles are absolutely amazing.


Yes, this beetle was one of the main goals of this trip.

[Youtube]W0uLQiYpDLU[/Youtube]






_Duliticola _sp., with possible male of that species.

And few "backstage" and landscape pictures...






Taking pictures in the rainforest.






I felt like a kid in the candy shop 






Mountain rainforest - Kinabalu National Park.






Lowland rainforest - Mulu National Park

And more animals...






Araneidae






Longhorn beetle taking off...






Probably _Lampropelma _sp. "Borneo Black"






_Panesthia _sp.






Another jumping spider.

Reactions: Like 10


----------



## The Snark

How the heck did you catch that beetle at take off?


----------



## Philth

Great stuff as usually, thanks for sharing.  I suspect this is not a _Lampropelma_ though. The tarsus and metatarsus seem to narrow, but pretty spider whatever it is.




Dark Raptor said:


> Probably _Lampropelma _sp. "Borneo Black"


----------



## Dark Raptor

The Snark said:


> How the heck did you catch that beetle at take off?


Longhorned beetles need few seconds to start. If you are lucky, you move your camera to get everything in DOF, press the shutter... _et voila_!
I took macro pictures in manual mode. With time set to 1/250s it is much easier to freeze insect movement. But I loved my old Nikon D70s with speedlight synchronisation at 1/500s. Shots like this one were also possible:








Philth said:


> Great stuff as usually, thanks for sharing.  I suspect this is not a _Lampropelma_ though. The tarsus and metatarsus seem to narrow, but pretty spider whatever it is.


Thanks for the ID. My friend, more familiar with theraphosids, told me that this _Lampropelma_ and _Phormingochilus everetti_ are most common in Mulu area. Maybe it is something else.

More insects this time...






_Nistrus_ sp.






Passalidae






_Ceratocrania macra_






_Theodosia westwoodi_






_Pseudonemophas baluanus_






_Chrysosoma_ sp.






Sphingidae






_Lyssa menoetius_






My wife with _Attacus atlas_. These huuuuge moths were hitting our windows every night. For the first time, we thought that it was a bat.






Probably _Pheidole_ ant queen.

Reactions: Like 8


----------



## oldmanofthesea

Thank you for the awesome photos of your trip. Ron


----------



## Dark Raptor

Thank you 

Spiders are coming back...






Sparassidae






_Gasteracantha_

Unknown jumping spiders from Mulu and Kinabalu National Parks.






































And two stick insects from Kinabalu

Reactions: Like 5


----------



## The Snark

Philth said:


> Great stuff as usually, thanks for sharing.  I suspect this is not a _Lampropelma_ though. The tarsus and metatarsus seem to narrow, but pretty spider whatever it is.


To narrow or too narrow?


----------



## Philth

The Snark said:


> To narrow or too narrow?


Sorry I meant two narrow. Great pics Dark Raptor, I'm loving this thread. 

Later, Tom


----------



## The Snark

OP, I remember the moths hitting the windows. Panic! We're maiming these beautiful animals! So we turned the lights off and sat there in the dark getting eaten alive by mosquitoes we couldn't see to smack at and where they were getting into the room.



Philth said:


> Sorry I meant two narrow. Great pics Dark Raptor, I'm loving this thread.
> 
> Later, Tom


Seem to narrow (down, become smaller, lessen), or, seem too narrow (too small for this species)?
As metatarpal of the Latrodectus compared to the Steatoda.


----------



## Philth

Seem too narrow (too small for this species)

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## The Snark

Philth said:


> Seem too narrow (too small for this species)


I've been trying to keep up with these little identifiers that are so obvious to people oriented with them. It's like when I had 45 head of horses in the corrals and would offhandedly tell someone to 'go get Peanuts over there... that roan' and the person would be bewildered at what was so obvious to me.


----------



## Protectyaaaneck

Awesome pictures! And yes, Tom's right, that's not a Lampropelma species.  Looks terrestrial, beyond that I have no idea.


----------



## Micrathena

Blowin' my mind! I love the jumping spiders! So diverse...


----------



## Dark Raptor

Thank you 



Protectyaaaneck said:


> Awesome pictures! And yes, Tom's right, that's not a Lampropelma species.  Looks terrestrial, beyond that I have no idea.


Maybe a new, undescribed species... I should return there and capture more specimens, this time not only in the pictures 

This time various animals and plants set:






Endemic _Rhododendron_, Kinabalu National Park.






Young mangrove trees, Kota Kinabalu






Malayan tiger _Panthera tigris jacksoni_. Lok Kawi.






Gibbons, Lok Kawi.






Dried fish, Gaya Island.






Palm leaf. Kota Kinabalu.






Myrmecophilous plant, Kinabalu National Park.






Another shot, with longhorn beetle taking off...






Jumping spider, Mulu.






Lizard, Mulu.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Smokehound714

Holy crap, that's a good shot.  That's easily your best of the entire set, IMO. 


   I would continually pinch myself if i were there, it just wouldnt feel real to me..  You guys'r living the dream!

 spectacular photographs!


----------



## Dark Raptor

Smokehound714 said:


> Holy crap, that's a good shot.  That's easily your best of the entire set, IMO.


Thanks  I hope, these are better 












Darkling beetle, Kinabalu National Park.



Smokehound714 said:


> I would continually pinch myself if i were there, it just wouldnt feel real to me..  You guys'r living the dream!
> 
> spectacular photographs!


There were animals, taking care of that   






Nasty _Dorcus _sp. stag beetle, Kinabalu National Park.






Land leech, Kinabalu National Park.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## The Snark

Re: the Leech. The most amazing animal in the world.
-It can barely move, walking on it's 'head' and the end of it's tail, yet it sometimes can move faster than the  speed of light as they converge on you the moment you sit down.
-They can apparently live on air. Billions suddenly attacking your campground in virtually animal free zone near the upper limits of the tree line areas of the Himalayas... but what do they eat when they can't find the rare mammal up there?
-They can squeeze through microscopic holes. Go ahead and duct tape your boots and socks. You will still find leeches when you take them off.
-They don't have eyes or noses but will unerringly converge on your body.


----------



## Dark Raptor

Luckily it was a dry season and I found (or they found me) only three specimens 



The Snark said:


> (...)
> -They don't have eyes or noses but will unerringly converge on your body.


I can't agree with that. They've got one or more pairs of eyes and chemical receptors on the head provide a sense of smell.

Few years ago I was taking pics of water leeches, sometimes they had 8 or 10 eyes. It was very helpful in their identification.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## antinous

First off, let me say I'm jealous beyond belief haha. It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid to travel to Borneo and I hope once I finish my BS in zoology I'll be able to go there on an internship haha. I know this might be overstepping by limit, but was the trip particularly expensive?

Secondly, amazing pictures! I love the macros and I'm planning to get into photography! I especially love the macros!


----------



## Dark Raptor

Thanks 



theReptileGuy said:


> (...)I know this might be overstepping by limit, but was the trip particularly expensive?


I don't know how expensive are flights from US, but from Europe, it is possible to find a ticket for less than 400-500$, both ways.
When you get there, it is really cheap. We've been booking hostels via hostelworld.com ect. You can find bed, in 4 person room, for 2,5-5$/night. Food (except sea food - which is really strange thing in the city with seaport) is very, very cheap. We bought food at lokal markets. Sometimes 1$ for meal (rice, meat, vegetables... and a lot of sambal spicy sauce). In this climate, you don't eat too much... we spent more money on isotonic drinks (1$ for 2L). That saves your ass 
Bus tickets, taxis, if you buy everything directly from the driver, are also very cheap. The same thing with local activities, botanical gardens, ZOOs ect.
The only thing that was so expensive that we didn't choose was climbing on Kinabalu Mountain. 300-400$ for two day trip...

So, if we are talking about something different than animals and plants. Few pictures showing more human environment... but also few landscapes.






My wife with captured echinoderm.






Canopy walk in Mulu National Park.






Sunset over Kinabalu National Park.






Fisherman in Kota Kinabalu port.






Water Village, Gaya Island.






Kundasang, small town near Kinabalu Mountain.






When you buy cruise directly from the fishermans, it is much, much cheaper than with travel agency. Gaya Island.






Klias River. Sabah.






Mamutik Island, near Kota Kinabalu.






"Slums" in Kota Kinabalu. People in Malaysia are extremely friendly. They welcomed us with the smile everywhere we came. You can feel save even in places avoided by most tourists.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Dark Raptor

Few pictures from the rainforest...






_Ducula forsteni_, Sabah.






_Lutra sumatrana_, Sabah.






_Phyllomimus_ sp., Kinabalu NP, Sabah.






_Zanna terminalis_, Mulu, Sarawak.






Strangler fig, Sabah.






_Crocodilus porosus_, Sabah.






_Nycticorax nycticorax_, Sabah.






Unknown lizard, Kinabalu NP, Sabah.






...and another unknown lizard, Kinabalu NP, Sabah.






Unknown frog, Mulu, Sarawak.

Reactions: Like 4


----------



## Greg Pelka

Sabah is indeed an amazing place. With some short breaks I've spent there almost 1 year.
Getting there is not comlicated, sightseeing, tourism also. Malaysia is not a 3rd world country. It's 2 and a half 

Darku, good that you're sharing your photos also here!

Greetings from short trips to Philippines! Soon, i'm flying back to Sabah


----------



## Dark Raptor

Greg Pelka said:


> (...)Greetings from short trips to Philippines! Soon, i'm flying back to Sabah


Lucky man  Now, I have only pictures... to wach again and again 






Jackfruit






Waterfall near Kota Kinabalu






Assasin bug






_Cyrtonops punctipennis_






Palm plantations. Few years ago, there was a junge down there...






Rainforests dissapear with terrifying speed. During my trip, I saw these situations too often...






Anthropopression is really strong. I wish they could avoid mistakes we made in Europe...






_Anoplophora elegans_, another victim of anthropopression. Many interesting beetles, and most reptiles I found there, were "converted" to two dimensions.






Ants in their leaf-hive.






Orchid

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Scourge

Fantastic photos! The Theraphosid is from the subfamily Selenocosmiinae, possibly Phlogiellus, or maybe even something new.


----------

