New fish record, rediscovered treasures and more!

First record of the blue-tailed dartfish Ptereleotris hanae for Singapore at Pulau Hantu by Dr Zeehan Jaafar and Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers!

These and other fascinating articles have been uploaded on Nature in Singapore of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

Secretive squirrel, orchids rediscovered, corals studied and more

We learn more about the elusive shrew-faced squirrel that lives in our forest.

Plus lots more discoveries and studies of Singapore's amazing plants and animals, on land and sea. All in the latest slew of papers on Nature in Singapore of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

Tigers on Ubin, birds that sew, extinct orchid rediscovered and more!

Yes, there are Tigers at Ubin! Tiger butterflies that is! Developed with the advice of Khew Sin Khoon from Butterfly Circle, Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin boasts a wide variety of beautiful butts.

Read about this and about birds that sew up leaves, rare and new plant discoveries and more in the latest issues of My Green Space Issue 12 Vol 1/2012 a magazine of the National Parks Board.

No longer extinct: a swamp forest palm! And more!

Lots of new articles in Nature in Singapore with fascinating finds and insights.

A palm of the swamp forest, Salacca affinis was considered extinct in Singapore. Adrian Loo's discovery of this palm  in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest "establishes its status from “extinct” in Singapore to “critically endangered”. He discusses the extreme vulnerability of this palm species "in relation to its habitat and only known locality, the freshwater swamp forest in Nee Soon, which is the last of its kind in Singapore." Read more in: Loo, A. H. B., 2011. Rediscovery in Singapore of Salacca affinis Griff. (Arecaceae). Nature in Singapore, 4: 123–126. [PDF, 300 KB]. And also in Adrian Loo's blog.

Flora Singapura - a new resource on Singapore's plants

The first new resource in 2011! Flora Singapura aims to overcome "the terse technical descriptions" found in botanical texts. And instead describe the identifying field characters using photographs and commentary.
Awesome! This is just what ordinary wannabe botanists desperately need!

NEW! Total Vascular Flora of Singapore Online

Teo Siyang has just announced the effort towards creating this awesome resource on Singapore's plants!
The Total Vascular Flora of Singapore Online already has more than 500 entries!

Nature in Singapore: Frogs, fig snails, aliens and rediscovery of plants

The latest findings of Singapore's biodiversity is out on Nature in Singapore by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.
Find out the latest to intriguing questions such as: How many kinds of frogs are found at Sungei Buloh?

Saving Singapore's wild orchids

Singapore used to have 226 native wild orchid species. Now there are only 48 species left, and only five are common. The remainder are rare or critically endangered.
Dr Yam Tim Wing is holding a specimen of Dendrobium leonis which is extinct in the wild and will be reintroduced. Photo from Straits Times, Ng Sor Luan

To protect our remaining orchid biodiversity, NParks has launched a programme to reintroduce our wild orchids, even in the heart of the city!

17 Apr (Sat): Talk on "Conservation of Native Orchids in Singapore"

Dr Yam Tim Wing will share about the orchid conservation programme that has successfully propagated and re-introduced 5 species of native orchids.
These include the spectacular Tiger orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum).
And the intriguing Bulbophyllum. These orchids are not only rare and beautiful, but some of them mass bloom providing a spectacular sight!

Biodiversity matters: thank the 'weeds' for our clean water

It's easy to love cute furry creatures, or even ugly icky ones if they are rare. But biodiversity is more than just attractive animals. The diversity of life includes even unseen lifeforms and dull boring ones like 'weeds'.

And why should we care about 'weeds'? Why does biodiversity matter?

Nature in Singapore: mushrooms, moths and mangrove palm

"Troops of bright sulphur-yellow" mushrooms were seen in our forests in 2008 with as many as 50 found in one area alone. "Prolific flushing" was also seen other locations.
What is this fungus? Find out in Nature in Singapore!

Nature in Singapore: worms transformed and good and bad vines

What does this pretty worm-like thing turn into? We find out in the first series of papers for 2010 in Nature in Singapore by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research!
Often called an 'inch-worm' because of the looping way the animal moves - it seems to measure out inches - it is the caterpillar of a moth!

Seagrasses, mass orchid blooms, hornbills and serious tree climbers

The latest issue of My Green Space by NParks features interesting articles about Singapore's biodiversity!
Seagrass: Dugong Food for Thought by Lim Wei Ling & Siti Maryam Yaakub shares fascinating facts about our seagrasses. For example, did you know that we have 12 species of seagrasses?! That's a good portion of the 23 species found in the Indo-Pacific Region!