KANGAR – A dedicated team of scientists participating in the Perlis National Park Forest Biodiversity Scientific Expedition discovered two new species of wildlife in the Bukit Bintang Forest Reserve in the state .
According to Associate Professor Dr. Amirrudin Ahmad, the head researcher of the expedition, the two newly discovered species belong to the ‘tribes spider’ family and the lizard species known as ‘Cyrtodactylus zebraicus.’
“The spider is a new species found for the first time and we are in the process of giving it a name,” he told reporters at the Perlis National Park Biological Diversity Scientific Expedition Seminar (Bukit Bintang Forest Reserve) here last night.
The seminar was officiated by the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department director-general Datuk Indera Mohd Ridza Awang.
Also present were Perlis Environment Committee chairman Megat Hashirat Hassan and Perlis Forestry Department director Ag Shaffie Ag Ahmadni.
Amirrudin, who is also the Director of the Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), revealed that the spider species is endemic to Perlis, making it exclusive to this region.
He said another new discovery recorded through the Scientific Expedition for three days from Oct 17 to 20 was lizard ‘Cyrtodactylus zebraicus’.
“In Malaysia, this lizard is only found in Perlis, which is believed to come from Thailand and entered the country through the Nawakawan Range which borders Thailand,” he said.
It is usually found in lowlands and semi-deciduous forests, Amirrudin added.
Meanwhile, Mohd Ridza said the documented discovery of new wildlife species holds the potential to captivate wildlife enthusiasts and can serve as a compelling ecotourism attraction for the state.
“For example, bird enthusiasts will come here (Perlis) when they get information that there is a bird species they are interested in or that is rare,” he said.
He said the department always strives to organise scientific expeditions for the purpose of documenting the content of biological diversity in forest areas.
“The Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia has organised a total of 42 series of scientific expeditions throughout the country until now,” he said.
He said every scientific expedition would be followed up with a scientific seminar to enable researchers to present their findings according to their respective expertise. – Bernama
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