According to a study, it was found that lives
on Thai Peninsula are likely to have existed
since 500 million years ago
at a minimum.
Traces of the past on Thai Peninsula
during the ancient time
may be noticeable here at Satun Geopark,
covering an area of 4 districts
of Satun: Thung Wa, Ma Nang, La Ngu,
and Mueang Satun.
An evidence of the marine world from 500 million years ago was found–
that is “fossils of the oldest marine life in Thailand”
in red sandstone on Ko Tarutao island.
It was during the Cambrian Period,
the first geospatial of Paleozoic.
The golden age of “Bacteria and Green Seaweed”
including carapace emerged and has lived
under the sea.
This land was undersea, long before the
emergence dinosaurs and humans.
In addition, many other fossils
were also found.
Since 444 million years ago,
from Silurian to Triassic,
The land submerged beneath the sea gradually moved northward from the southern hemisphere, becoming a diverse topography as we see today.
Later on, caves became the “first human dwelling.”
It was discovered that tools made from animal bones and fossils in the cave 30 meters above the ground
could lead to an assumption that humans started to live in this area from 6,000 years ago.
The discovery of diverse species, be it
fossils or creatures living near
“Satun Geopark” reflects that
Thai Peninsula has been rich and biodiverse
since millions of years ago until the present time.
The foregoing shows that Thai Peninsula has
had backgrounds dated from million years ago and
many lives have relied on one another on this
land for a long time.
Since “Satun Geopark” has accumulated
its lushness since the ancient time,
it has become another important source of
fascinating natural science on
Thai Peninsula
Another area of study for “us” –
THE TAXANOMISTS
from Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum
However, there are many other sites where we have studied
and conducted researches on Thai Peninsula for the purpose
of dissemination of knowledge.
500 million years to 6,000 years,
from the ancient period to old stone age,
the world has been changing constantly, resulting
in evolution and adaptation of all living beings
in order to survive in such environment. Some has
gone extinct, some are endemic.
However, certain creatures that can adapt to
any environment, especially small animals like
insects
have habitats all over the world.
One of them is
the “springtail”
one of the longest evolved insects.
Fossils of the springtail have been found dated
411 million years back, which coincided the Devonian.
The springtail is categorized in the group of “Arthropoda”:
it is wingless, small, approx. 1-2 millimeters in length.
Its particularities are its tail which is used for leaping to move
when bleeding internally or to evade predators. It has collophore or a
tubular appendage extending from the first abdominal segment
used for balancing its bodily fluid and helping with gripping,
The springtail’s major role
is circulation of nutrients, soil restructuring,
and balancing food chain and food web.
A report discovered that there are more than 9,000 species
of springtails all over the world.
But because of its small size and limited references,
there are not many studies on this insect.
But the taxonomists at Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum
study the springtail
which is ancient insects, bridging an important evolution
of the Arthropoda between the crustacea, mostly living
underwater, and Entognatha, which live on land.
Some species of the springtail is an indicator
of the importance of Kra Isthmus, propagation
center of living beings
according to zoogeography of Southeast Asia.
The springtail is categorized as an animal with high adaptability.
On Thai Peninsula, more than 90 species of
cave springtails are discovered.
Some species can only be found in the
caves in Southern Thailand only.
There is a saying that a “cave” is
like an island of biodiversity because of its stable environment,
unlike the external environment.
Among a variety of living beings
of different species living on earth,
starting from under the sea,
prior to continual evolution
onto the land,
a creature like a “human”
has just emerged and evolved not for long,
compared to other species.
According to the study, human
species originated from the primate, which evolved from apes, such as chimpanzees.
Long before they became the ancestors of
human beings today, there are different
species of humans which previously
came to existence and evolved.
Homo sapiens
are ancestors of the humans nowadays,
having been evolving for the past 200,000 years,
coinciding with the Pleistocene or 1.8 million
years to ten thousand years ago.
The ancestors of the humans nowadays lived
sporadically all over the world, starting from Africa.
In Thailand, the oldest traces of homo sapiens have
been found in Krabi.
The ancestors of the current human species
are considered more intelligent than other
human species or other creatures.
In addition to physical differences,
they also had large brains.
The ancestors of the current human species
could therefore adapt and create many things,
hence its binomial name: “homo sapiens”, a
Latin term for “wise man”.
Do you wonder
with which ancient animals “homo sapiens humans”
have contemporary evolution?
The answer is NONE.
Because there were a number of creatures in the wild had emerged and lived long before the dawn of humanity.
Ancient creatures had developed adaptation of more than hundred million years.
Homo Sapiens, just emerging around 200,000 years ago, are therefore the late ancient creatures that originated on this earth.
Have you ever wondered
why we find a number of species scattered
all over the world? How did one species
travel to the other side of the earth?
In fact, creatures may live or
evolve within their area; it is
the “tectonic plate” that moves.
Do you know
that today’s world map is different from one in the past?
It is said that the curves of each continent could all
join together making one continent. The same fossils were
found in different continents; likewise, the same creatures
were found in continents distant from one another.
Hence a theory of one-continent world called “Pangaea”,
comprising Laurasia, a northern land, and Gondwana,
a southern land, before the tectonic plate slowly
moved and appeared as it is on our current world
map that we’re familiar with.
Throughout a period of millions of years,
the world never stops moving.
The movement of magma
beneath the crust causes the tectonic plate to always be in motion.
The tectonic plate moves at the speed of 4 centimeters per year, meaning that it takes approx. 500 million years to move to the other side of the earth, slowly separating each continent. We call this process “plate tectonics”.
This causes differences in topographies,
be it mountains, valleys, large basins
such as sea, ocean, and many others.
In addition, the plate tectonics engender pressure,
pull, and shear force within the strata,
causing folds and faults which bring about
natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis,
or volcano eruptions.
The face of the world map as we
know it today resembles that of
150 years ago
and still continues to change
without the humans realizing.
Origin of Thailand
At present, the earth has 13 primary tectonic plates; different plates of many sizes where
big and small lands are situated.
Thailand consists of two small tectonic plates adjoined,
i.e. Shan-Thai Terrane and Indochina Terrane,
previously pertaining to Gondwana, the southern land of the earth.
Originally, these two plates were not adjoined,
until about 220 million years ago, the plates moved towards one another and connected,
becoming “the Malay Peninsula” and a part of Asia.
50-75 million years ago, Thailand on the Malay Peninsula slowly moved to where it is today.
Shan-Thai Terrane covers
the area of Thai Peninsula
or Southern Thailand,
including the north, west, as well as
Malaysia, and the north of Sumatra.
Indochina Terrane covers
Northeast and Eastern Thailand.
In the past, this area used to be a large basin,
getting sediments from many rivers which were caused
by lifting mountains in the previous era, resulting in
accumulation of sandstone until it becomes a thick layer.
On Thai Peninsula, there are two primary faults, which are
Ranong Fault and
Khlong Marui Fault,
Those faults are dynamic, likely to move
again and posing a risk of an earthquake in
another 10-100 years.
At present, humans cannot predict earthquakes with accuracy.
Learning about faults therefore is another body of knowledge
used to deal with such potential natural phenomena. That is
why we need to study the nature in different aspects.
is partly caused by plate tectonics,together with
natural phenomena continually accumulated until the
present, creating uniqueness of Thai Peninsula.
Thai Peninsula does not have winter;
with tropical monsoon climate influenced by the
southeast and northeast monsoon, it has a pluvial
throughout a year. The land is narrow and long,
braced with seas on both sides, which are:
The Gulf of Thailand,
as a result of tectonic uplift, causing plains and sand ridges; and
Andaman Sea,
as a result of tectonic subsidence, causing narrow plains and islands.
With a long plain parallel to the mountain range,
Thai Peninsula has long mountain ranges setting out vertically
from north to south i.e.: Nakhon Si Thammarat Range, serving as
an axis of the region, located on the east side, ranging down to
Malaysia; Phuket Range, on the western coast of the south. In addition,
there are also San Kala Khiri Range, separating Thailand and Malaysia
and Tenasserim Hills, separating Thailand and Myanmar. Among such
ranges are a number of mountains lining up continuously.
There are main short rivers
flowing down to the Gulf of Thailand,
such as Ta Pi River, Pattani River,
Chumphon River, etc.
There are also large freshwater reservoirs,
such as Songkhla Lake.
Thai Peninsula has become the center of
geographical diversity, with mountains,
forests, plains, wetlands, coasts, down
to the bottom of the sea.
That is why various creatures scatter all over
Southern Thailand. All creatures are to adapt
to the environment of the peninsula that
is unstable.
Therefore, this is the center of living things
where some of which can only be found here on
Thai Peninsula.
10 newly found animals on Thai Peninsula
you can see at Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum
Dusky leaf monkeys
Family : Cercopithecidae
Scientific name : Trachypithecus obscrurus
Common name : Dusky leaf monkey
Thongaree's Disc-nosed Bats
Family : Megadermatidae
Scientific name : Eudiscoderma thongareeae
Common name : Thongaree’s Disc-nosed Bat
Chutamas's serotines
Family : Vespertilionidae
Scientific name : Eptesicus chutamasae
Common name : Chutamas’s serotine
Guillen's tube-nosed bats
Family : Vespertillionidae
Scientific name : Murina guilleni
Common name : Guillen’s tube-nosed bat
Terrapotamon thungwa
Family : Potamidae
Scientific name : Terrapotamon thungwa
Coleusia huilianae
Family : Leucosiidae
Scientific name : Coleusia huilianae
Thinophilus langkawensis
Family : Dolichopodidae
Scientific name : Thinophilus langkawensis
Ngirhaphium chutamasae
Family : Dolichopodidae
Scientific name : Ngirhaphium chutamasae
Karualona serrulata
Family : Branchiopoda
Scientific name : Karualona serrulata
Cyphoderus songkhlaensis
Family : Paronellidae
Scientific name : Cyphoderus songkhlaensis
The fact that Thai Peninsula situated on Shan-Thai subcontinent was reported that there were fossils found is not commonly known. It was a piece of spine from Khlong Min Formation at Khlong Thom District, Krabi Province, which is a group of rocks originating from the accumulation of sediments on the continent during the Middle-Late Jurassic. The study by paleontologists compared fossils reports that the fossils from Krabi resemble the long-neck Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus from Mamenchisauridae family. This reflects that Shan-Thai subcontinent has supposedly been linked to continental Asia since the Mesozoic Era, or probably before the Jurassic.
The narrow map of Southern Thailand reflects the topography of this area which emerged from the sea and became a long peninsula, braced with the Gulf of Thailand on one side and Andaman Sea on the other. However, in fact, the land in this area used to spread eastward, wide and lower, called Sunda Plate, which is the seabed of the Gulf of Thailand at present. The surge of seafloor in this area was caused by the transition of the earth entering an ice age which always recurs. The seawater would transform into ice that would spread from the poles to the temperate region or near the tropical region. The immense amount of water that vaporized onto the continent in the form of glaciers caused the amount of seawater to reduce; therefore, the seafloor of the Gulf of Thailand surged and became an enormous land.
Did you know?
Thai Peninsula is a geographical obstructer of sea animals
Many of the sea animals share physical resemblances. But in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea, a study found that different species of animals ranging from prawns, mantis shrimps, crabs, and insects of which caterpillars live in saltwater, with similar appearances from the two coasts, were originally classified by the taxonomists as one species. However, at present, technical advances in taxonomy equipped with DNA analysis classifies animals of different species into different types; thus, animals with slightly different appearances are now placed into different orders. Although, nowadays, it seems like the animal population of the two sides live very near to one another, during the Ice Age, the immense Sunda Plate connected to the islands of Indonesia separated these sea animals living on the two sides, preventing them from exchanging genetics and subsequently resulting in separating species.
Did you know?
Bats can “see†with sounds, and not only sonar sound
The common noctule has the ability to use ultrasonic in navigating and foraging that is a procedure called echolocation, which is based on the same principle as sonar in submarines, whales, and dolphins. The common noctule creates this sound by shrinking its larynx – a habit found in every species of common noctules. The sonar of this species of bat is called laryngeal echolocation.
However, most of the fruit bats do not use laryngeal echolocation; instead, they use their eyes which are highly sensitive to light and their nose which is highly sensitive to smell, coupled with echoes, such as the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), which are found to use the echolocation through tongue clicking. In addition, it is confirmed that at least three species of fruit bats which are cave nectar bats (Eonycteris spelaea), lesser short-nosed fruit bats (Cynopterus brachyotis), and long-tongued fruit bats (Macroglossus sobrinus) also use the echolocation when in complete darkness, but one that originates echoes by wing flapping.
Did you know?
Thai Peninsula - crossroads of creatures’ society
Southern Thailand is located on the northernmost of Sunda zoogeographic sub-region adjacent to Indochina zoogeographic sub-region. The area has undergone long and continual geological and climate transformation, be it tectonic uplift and faulting, increase or decrease in the sea level in the past, which had impact on animal evolution and reproduction. Being a joining area or “intersection†of this distribution allows the discoveries of creatures from both sub-regions. As a result, Southern Thailand is the center of great diversity of living beings; at the same time, many of which are endemic and can only be found here on Thai Peninsula. Most people have not been aware of this fact; however, the researchers from the Museum has conducted studies on such various groups of animals in order to establish an understanding of these phenomena and patterns of propagation.
For example, we found that, among 142 species of flying vertebrates like bats in Thailand, barely half of the total number [46%] can be discovered both in the south and the upper region of the country. In this regard, 22% are found only in the upper region of the country [Indochina zoogeographic sub-region and north of Khokhok Kra] while the bats found only in the south account for 32%. This indicates the adaptability of many species to their different habitats, especially the plant societies. Most of the species found across the country have high adaptability in the areas exposed to disturbances. These species are also widely found across Southeast Asia.
Among the number of bats found only in the south, many species spread wide down to the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia such as Java and Borneo. However, at the same time, certain species of bats seemingly stranded on an island are found only on the Thai-Malay peninsula, becoming highly endemic, such as lesser great leaf-nosed bats [central south], Thongaree’s disc-nosed bats [Bala forest], and Bala tube-nosed bats [Bala forest and central Malaysia]. This leads to the next question–why or what factors in them endemic to this area. One certain fact is that Southern Thailand is a joint that can serve as an excellent model for the study on the propagation of living beings.
The truth is the new species in the world do not
hold any greater significance than the creatures
that we see in our daily lives.
The term “new species”
is a term only for creatures that are never found
and recorded for distribution by any taxonomists.
But the local may already come across those as usual.
There are more creatures discovered by the researchers
from Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum.
What is the geological time? Let’s learn about the geological time scale!
In the study of the primeval age geologists have set up the geological time scale or the division of time since the Earth was formed about 4,600 million years ago up to the present.
These include Eons, Eras, Periods, and Epochs.
In total, there are 3 Eons:
Archeozoic is the world's first eon.
Proterozoic in Greek means life has just happened.
Phanerozoic in Greek means life has appeared.
What do taxonomists do?
Taxonomy is the subject of classification of living things for the convenience of study and use, because the world is made up of so many living things. Some species are different and some are similar to one another. Taxonomist refers to scientists who study and categorize living things, whether they classify living things into categories (Classification), examining to find a scientific name (Identification) or designating a scientific name (Nomenclature).
Do you know that insects are one of the most diverse organisms on the planet?
Scientists estimate that insects account for nearly half of all living things on Earth or approximately 1.5-30 million species. But only 10% have been studied and recorded. Insects are a group of animals that are classified as the most diverse in the world and the most successful in living. In Thailand there are no less than 105,000 species of insects, but only about 10,000 have been identified and named.
Currently, the number of insects is continually decreasing, which is caused by human interference. Do you know that although some insects are annoying, without insects in the world the ecosystem may collapse?
What are arthropods?
Arthropoda is a group of invertebrates with the highest species diversity in the world. They have an excellent ability to adapt to the changing environment of the planet. Examples of animals belonging to this group are arachnids, spiders, ticks, shrimps, crabs, millipedes, centipedes, insects, etc.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity refers to the existence of various types of living things in the ecosystem.
It includes 3 things:
Species Diversity - refers to the diversity of species in one area, whether it is the number of living things or the proportion of different organisms.
Genetic Diversity - refers to the diversity of genes that exist in each organism. The same organism can have different genetic traits.
Ecosystem Diversity - refers to the habitats of living things that are marked by the diversity of natural habitats, substitutions, and geographies that allow different organisms in different areas to evolve by adapting to each ecosystem.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity refers to the existence of various types of living organisms in the ecosystem. It consists of 3 components:
Species Diversity refers to the diversity of species in one area. It can be the number of living things or the proportion of different organisms.
Genetic Diversity refers to the diversity of genes that exist in each organism. The same organism may have different genetic traits.
Ecosystem Diversity refers to the habitats of living things that are marked by the diversity of natural habitats, substitutions, and geographies that allow different organisms in different areas to evolve by adapting to each ecosystem.
What are primates?
Humans evolved from the Primate, which is the most developed group of mammals. It is assumed that they were insect-eating animals living on the trees and looked like a chipmunk. They were active at night before they adapted to find food during the day. They improved swinging and hanging on the trees until they evolved into monkeys and finally into human beings.
Let’s take a look at the evolution of human beings.
Before the ancestors of modern humans or Homo Sapiens were born. In the Miocene, about 7 million years ago, the evolution of primates believed to be the origin of humans was born. They were hominoids, a group of tailless monkeys and humans.
Important hominoids found in the early Miocene are Proconsul, Afropithecus, Morotopithecus. Important hominoids found in the middle Miocene are Kenyapithecus, Turkanapithecus, and Dryopithecus. Important hominoids found in the late Miocene are Sivapithecus and Lufengpithecus.
The hominoids then evolved into a "hominid" considered to be the early human ancestors that walked on two feet. They had a larger brain and a smaller face due to the shrinking jaw size. Today, it is found that there are four families of hominids, but there are still many sub-families and some families overlap in time period.
Sahelanthropus is the oldest human ancestor ever discovered. It is possibly the co-ancestors of humans and Chimpanzees.
Orrorin is believed to be the first generation of humans. The discovery of the leg bones suggests that Orrorin should be able to walk on two legs.
Ardipithecus Ramidus is one of the oldest hominids. It is very close to Ardipithecus Kadabba, formerly believed to be a subspecies but was later proven to be a different kind and of older age. Australopithecus or apes are divided into two large groups. One is the Robust Australopithecines with large molar teeth and strong jaws. Another has evolved into the species called Homo. This species is the ancestors of modern humans.
Let's take a look at the evolution of Homo humans.
The ancient humans of the Homo genus arose 2 million years ago. They are believed to be the group that evolved into humans today. 9 species have been found, including:
Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, Homo antecesser, Homo heildelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens.
In addition, Homo floresiensis also known as “Hobbit” with a small body structure living on the Indonesian island of Flores some 50,000 years ago has also been found.
Big brain means smart, right?
Homo sapiens have the largest brain size when comparing between the proportion of the brain and other organs within the body. However, in reality the brain size does not indicate intelligence or level of intelligence. Some organisms even without a brain can still survive for millions of years. And many living things have a living instinct and intelligence that are not worse than humans.
Why are the scientific names of living beings in Latin?
The scientific names are in Latin because Latin is a dead language. Since no one uses it now, the meanings of the word will not change and will remain the same forever, which makes it easy to study or to examine the evolution of different organisms. However, to say that scientific names are all in Latin is also not quite right because sometimes there is also a mix of the Greek language.
Birth of reptiles
Reptiles evolved from amphibians. The evolution started from 280 million years ago, and progressed to many different paths such as dinosaurs, flying reptiles which became ancestors of birds, and reptiles that resemble mammals.
Ancient dragonfly
Dragonflies are ancient animals, of which evolution started 300 million years ago. In the past, dragonflies were much larger than those at present, with wings that are 29-inch long. Nowadays, however, the average length of their wings is only 7.5 inches.
Ancient trees
During the period of 354–295 million years ago, which coincides with the Carboniferous, an era of enormous fern forests, covering brooks, creaks, and canals, and propagation of insects and amphibians. Then began an evolution of reptiles and emergence of the family Pinaceae.
What is magma?
“Magma” refers to the molten rock beneath the earth's crust. When it erupts out of the earth's crust, it is called "lava".
What is the structure of the Earth?
Geologists divide the internal structure of the Earth into three parts:
Crust - the outer layer of the earth. It is composed mainly of silica dioxide and aluminum oxide. It consists of the continental crust and the oceanic crust.
Mantle - the part that is beneath the earth's crust down to the depth of 2,900 kilometers. The main components are silicon oxide, magnesium oxide, and iron oxide.
Core - the center of the earth. The main component is iron.
What are plate tectonics?
There are 3 types of plate tectonics:
Divergent plates: the pressure of the magma lead to the separation of the Earth's crust. This movement can cause earthquakes. There are two types of divergent plates:
Divergent continental plates - causing a large fissure and the land to collapse into a small sea
Divergent oceanic plates - causing the oceans to expand
Convergent plates: The plates collide. They can cause earthquakes or tsunamis in the ocean. There are three types of convergent plates:
A continental plate collides with a continental plate causing a high mountain range
An oceanic plate collides with an oceanic plate causing new islands and frequent earthquakes
An oceanic plate collides with a continental plate causing the continental plate to rise and become a high mountain along the coast
Transform plates: The two plates slide past each other causing large faults and severe earthquakes
What is the current list of major tectonic plates?
The continental drift theory, together with sea floor spreading theory, forms a plate tectonic theory. The earth’s crust is divided into 13 major plates, each with a specific boundary. These plates are still constantly moving all the time. They consist of North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, India, Pacific, Antarctic, Philippines, Arab, Scotia, Cocoa, Caribbean and Nazca
This is correct.
The land on which Thailand is situated originated from Indochina Terrane and Shan-Thai Terrane clashing into one another, becoming the Malay Peninsula since around 220 million years ago. And for the past 50-75 million years ago, the land of Thailand on the Malay Peninsula gradually moved to the current position.
This is correct.
Do you know that the most commonly found cave in Thailand is the limestone cave?
Many of which are found in the south, the north, and the west, usually as a result of acidic liquid reaction to limestone, resulting in calcite that creates stalagmite.
This one is incorrect.
Fossils are an important indicator of environmental changes for both in the past and at present, be it evolution of living beings, proof of geological theories, as well as serving as an indicator of climate in the past, for example, leaf humus can indicate an amount of rain, or even a rise in temperature during that time.
This is correct.
The springtails are considered ancient creatures that have existed from 411 million years ago. They are also an indicator of the bridge between crustacea that lives underwater and entognatha that lives on land. In addition, the springtails are an important indicator of the spread of living beings in certain areas.
General characteristics
They have gray-black fur. They have white eye circles that are clearly visible like they are wearing glasses. The tail is very long, longer than the combined length of the head and body. The outer thighs and the base of the arms are light gray. The tail feathers are black. The newborns have golden fur.
How interesting:
Dusky leaf monkeys are primates that feed on leaves and fruits as their staple food. They sometimes eat some insects as a supplement as well. They live together in a group, which can be as many as 30. Young ones always cling to their mother and have a very distinctive dark orange fur which is believed to make it easy for members of the group to see and help each other to monitor. But at the same time, it also makes it easy for predators and humans to see them as well. The lovely orange dusky leaf monkeys make some people want to raise them leading to the killing of the mother in order to remove the young monkeys from their mother's bosom. There is also a group of people who believe that blood of dusky leaf monkeys is a tonic that can enhance sexual performance. This makes the dusky leaf monkeys one of the main targets of the hunting and wildlife poaching. Dusky leaf monkeys are found in the forests only in the southern regions up to Ratchaburi Province. They are currently in a state of endangered species (Endangered; EN).
General characteristics
They are a large bat with very long ears. The earlobe is a two-pointed sword. The nostrils are circular, disc-like and brown. They are only found in the Halabala forest.
How interesting:
They are a new species and a new genus of bats discovered by Dr. Pipat Soisuk, a researcher from Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Songkhla Nakarin University together with the Pa Phru-Pa Hala Bala Wildlife Research Station, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. They have characteristics that are different from the other four genera in this family. Because of their circular nose pad, their family name is "Eudiscoderma" which means that the nose pads are circular, like a disc. The species name is called “Eudiscoderma Thongaree” in honor of Siriporn Thongaree, the former head of Hala Bala Wildlife Research Station who has done lifelong researches for wildlife conservation in southern Thailand. The bats were first discovered in 2001 and were initially thought to be a relatively new species in the family of Megaderma that is common in Asia. However, after more examples and comparative studies with other Australian and African bat species, they turn out to be a completely new species.
General characteristics
Their upper molars are larger than the molar teeth of Eptesicus serotinus, which is clearly the largest of these species found today.
How interesting:
The discovered fossils and molar parts suggest that this bat species lived at the end of the Pleistocene, approximately 16,350 years ago. This is a new type of fossilized bats that are now extinct and their same genus is no longer found in southern Thailand. This name is in honor of Associate Professor Dr. Chutamas Sotsuk, the director of Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum and vice president of Songkla Nakarin University. This new type of bat fossils was found at Khao Khao Cave, Sadao District, Songkhla Province.
General characteristics
They are a small bat. The back feathers are yellowish gray. The fur on the abdomen is shorter and paler gray. The nose is similar to a tube, a typical feature of Murina cyclotis found in upper region of Thailand and the Indochina region. They can be called a similar counterpart that found in different zoological areas. At present, Guillen's tube-nosed bats are widely found in the forests of the Thai-Malay peninsula.
How interesting:
This type of bats is a small insect-eating bat. They can be found in a wide variety of forests in the southern regions including intact evergreen forests and along the edges of the jungle with human invasion, but not outside the forest. In 2013 it was named in honor of Dr. Antonio Guillen-Servent, the person who collected the first samples from Krabi since 1997. This discovery was the starting point of a subsequent taxonomy review of this group of bats in Thailand and Southeast Asia leading to the discoveries of many more new species of tubular bats.
General characteristics
They are a limestone hill crab that resembles and has an overlapping origin with the Satun limestone hill crabs. They are only found in the area of Thung Wa District, Satun Province, which is the origin of their scientific name. They have not yet been reported outside this area, making them a very endemic freshwater crab. The most noticeable difference in these two species is the color of the adult. Terrapotamon Thung Wa are red while the other is purple. Both types of crabs can be found both inside the cave and outside the cave. Other differences are, such as, the thickness of the edge of side carapace in the front, the density and prominence of the nodules, and the proportion of the limb’s length.
General characteristics
They are a group of salt water crabs that has smooth, shiny carapace surfaces. This is thought to be a result of their evolution to reduce the friction against the sand so that they can quickly dig the seafloor to hide from the predators. This new type of crab is a large type of pebble crabs. The width of the shell is around 3.2 centimeters. Their distinctive feature at the end of the shell both in the middle and on the sides are four large rust-colored circular spots, hence their Thai name. The scientific name was in honor of Prof. Chen Hui Lian, an expert on the pebble crabs from the Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Science in Qingdao, China, where a large number of research on this group of crabs has been published.
General characteristics
They are a new species of marine crane flies found in the mangrove forests adjacent to the coasts and the seas of Koh Tarutao, Satun Province. This species was first discovered on Langkawi Island, Malaysia, but it has neither been published nor reported. Their distinctive feature is their quite large body (6.2-6.4 mm) in a golden green color. All parts of the antennae are yellow while the male hypopygium is close to the abdomen and longer than half of the body length (Fig. 24A and 24B). Typically, this family of crane flies often has a short male hypopygium. Furthermore, the cerci extend up to the chest while the surstyli look like a thin membrane and are movable and foldable. Their scientific name is T. langkawensis named after the Langkawi Island, Malaysia, where they were first discovered.
General characteristics
They are a large crane fly that can be found in mangrove forests, such as the mangrove forests adjacent to the open sea or the inner mangrove canal with a wide wetland when the sea water decreases to the lowest. This species of crane fly was first discovered by the Tam Malang Mangrove Forest Research Unit, Muang District, Satun Province. It is named in honor of Associate Professor Dr. Chutamas, the main Master thesis advisor of a researcher, the director of the Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, and the vice president of Songkla Nakarin University. Some of the distinctive features of this species of crane fly are the golden green body approximately 7 mm in length, the thick and large antennae in the dorsal surstylus (ds), or the lower protrusion of the boot-like male reproductive part (Samoh et al., 2015) (Fig. 22B)
General characteristics
Their distinctive features that can be clearly seen from their appearance are serrulate notches at the lower end of the shell, which is the origin of the scientific name. Other species in this genus only have two to four serrulate notches. This species has been reported in Thailand and Vietnam. In Thailand, they are found at Na Tham swamp, Trang Province, where the water is not very deep (10-50 cm) and the water is brown (because there is a large heap of dead plants and leaves).
General characteristics
They are found in a dark area in Khao Noi Cave, Rattaphum District, Songkhla Province, so they are named in honor of Songkhla Province.
Their distinctive features are that they have a white body and are without eyes. They are small only about 0.9-1.2 mm. Their inner paws have only one tooth.
That’s right.
Thai Peninsula has the tropical monsoon climate, a region with the highest volume of rain in Thailand.
Situated near the Equator and in a position influenced by the year-round monsoon, both from the Southeast and the Northeast, and while it is also the path of cyclones, it rains heavily throughout the year. As a result, the South becomes Thailand’s large tropical forest.
That’s right.
The four ranges are considered the main mountain ranges of Southern Thailand.
These ranges originated from tectonic folding. At present, these high ranges serve as a front against nimbus clouds.
Importantly, these ranges are the source of small and large waters of Southern Thailand, as well as a habitat of a considerable number of living beings.
That’s right.
Southern Thailand is braced with two seas that are the havens for a number of living beings.
Although the both sides are coasts, they have differences: the Gulf of Thailand originated from a tectonic uplift, resulting in plains and sand ridges; whereas Andaman Sea originated from a tectonic faulting, resulting in narrow plains and a number of islets. For this reason, the two coasts have different biodiversity.
Excellent.
You know and understand Thai Peninsula so well.
The biodiversity of Thai Peninsula is not a result of any one particular factor, but rather a combination of many factors that favor the evolution of living beings. In addition, the geographical uniqueness factors in being an area with high biodiversity, be it on land (tropics) or underwater (sea, bogs, freshwater, brackish water), piquing the interest of researchers from all over the world.
