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Palawan Sun Skink

    Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink     The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi...

Asian Leaf Turtle

Asian Leaf Turtle photo by Jojo De Peralta
     The genus Cyclemys is found in Southeast Asia and its members are typically referred to as 'leaf turtles' due to the serrated hind end border of its carapace that is akin to plant leaves. This is much more distinct in the juveniles and may offer some protection against predators that may attempt to bite or swallow the spiky shelled hatchlings. In the Philippines, the Cyclemys dentata Gray, 1831 is restricted to the Palawan group of islands, the Sulu archipelago, and Tawi-Tawi.
Asian Leaf Turtle photo by Jojo De Peralta
Asian Leaf Turtle

     The adults of this species are largely active at night, but can be seen walking on the forest floor near streams and rivers in the morning or late in the afternoon. Juveniles tend to be more active during the daytime and were observed feeding in the wild during the day. When resting, adult individuals can be found under the thick vegetation growing near the water and under large rocks or crevices of boulders on the banks of streams or rivers.

Asian Leaf Turtle photo by Jojo De Peralta
Juvenile Asian Leaf Turtle

     The young Cyclemys dentata are fairly aquatic. We often see the juveniles in shallow bodies of water, very rarely on the forest floor. They do appear to become more terrestrial as they age, spending much of their time on land. Their feet are semi-webbed, suited for terrestrial or aquatic mobility, but they are not strong swimmers preferring instead to walk on the bottom of a body of water rather than swim freely.

Asian Leaf Turtle photo by Jojo De Peralta
Juvinile Asian Leaf Turtle

     The Asian Leaf Turtle is gentle and lively, and easy to care in captivity. Such specimens are desirable as pets and it is one of the most seen reptile species in illegal pet trade. This turtle is omnivorous, it feeds upon food such as insects, vegetation, worms and even scavenge on dead carcass of fish caught in fishing nets. Its appetite for earthworms made this turtle vulnerable to fishing hooks baited with earthworms.

Asian Leaf Turtle photo by Jojo De Peralta
Juvenile Asian Leaf Turtle
     Cyclemys dentata collection for its meat is common among indigenous peoples and some rural villagers. Its meat is treated as delicacy and commonly consumed because of its supposed medicinal properties. It used to be very common in the lowland forests adjacent to streams, ponds, and other low-lying bodies of water within degraded forests, but collection for food and illegal pet trade made the numbers decrease drastically in the lowland especially around farms and rural areas.
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