BORNEO ISLAND LEOPARD DEEMED NEW SPECIES

[Anonymous]

Island leopard deemed new species
Clouded
leopards found on Sumatra and Borneo represent a new species, research
by genetic scientists and the conservation group WWF indicates.Until
now it had been thought they belonged to the species that is found on
mainland southeast Asia.Scientists now believe the two species diverged
more than one million years ago, and have evolved separately
since.Clouded leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo, and can
grow as large as small panthers.The separation of the species was
discovered by scientists at the US National Cancer Institute near
Washington DC.”Genetic research results clearly indicate that the
clouded leopards of Borneo should be considered a separate species,”
said Dr Stephen O’Brien, head of the Institute’s Laboratory of Genomic
Diversity.”DNA tests highlighted around 40 differences between the two
species.”

Tell tails
Supporting
evidence came from examination of fur patterns. Leopards from Borneo
and Sumatra have small “clouds” with many distinct spots within them,
grey and dark fur, and twin stripes along their backs.Their mainland
cousins have large cloud markings on their skin with fewer, often
faint, spots within the cloud markings, and are lighter and more tawny
in colour”The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland
clouded leopard and the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were
comparing two different species,” said Dr Andrew Kitchener from the
National Museums of Scotland.

“It’s incredible that no-one has ever noticed these differences.”
WWF,
which maintains a large conservation operation on Borneo, estimates
there are between 5,000 and 11,000 clouded leopards on the island, with
a further 3,000 to 7,000 on Sumatra.”The fact that Borneo’s top
predator is now considered a separate species further emphasises the
importance of conserving the ‘Heart of Borneo’,” said WWF’s Stuart
Chapman, co-ordinator of a project seeking to preserve the island’s
wildlife.The three governments with territory on the island –
Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei – signed an agreement earlier this year
pledging to protect the “Heart of Borneo”, 200,000 square kilometres of
rainforest in the middle of the island thought to be particularly high
in biodiversity.

[Author]

March 15, 2007 at 11:10 AM