Some notes on a short collection trip to Mt. Poi, Sarawak, undertaken recently by the Raffles Museum, Singapore, and the Sarawak Museum
J.C. Moulton, Curator of the Sarawak Museum, published this field report in 1913 documenting a brief joint collecting expedition to Mt. Poi—the only granite mountain and highest peak in Sarawak Proper—undertaken in April 1913 by the Raffles Museum, Singapore, and the Sarawak Museum. The article serves as both a zoological inventory of a previously unexamined mountain fauna and a contribution to the biogeographical question of how Borneo’s ancient granitic peaks relate to one another through their endemic species.
Summary
Moulton’s account centres on a six-day stay on the mountain’s upper slopes, during which a small party comprising Dr. Hanitsch (Director of the Raffles Museum), his taxidermist P.M. de Fontaine, and Moulton himself, assisted by Dayak bearers and collectors, attempted to survey the fauna of a peak that had attracted only sporadic European attention since Beccari’s 1866 ascent. The expedition’s brevity and adverse weather—persistent cloud cover that suppressed insect activity—meant the collections were necessarily incomplete, yet they yielded several species of biogeographical significance, particularly Bornean mountain endemics previously known only from the far eastern peaks of Kina Balu and Penrissen. Moulton draws attention to the striking affinity between the faunas of these two ancient granitic mountains, separated by hundreds of miles of more recent geological formations whose peaks harbour different assemblages, suggesting a deep-time continuity of highland biota across Borneo.
Beyond the zoological record, the article embeds observations on the Slakau Dayaks of the Simatan and Rissen area, a group whose ethnological affinities Moulton finds uncertain and whose customs—house architecture, funerary practices, dietary taboos, and linguistic features—he contrasts with those of the better-known Land-Dayaks of Sarawak. He speculates that the Slakaus may represent an intermediate population linking the Sea-Dayak and Land-Dayak groups, a hypothesis he commends to Dutch ethnographers working in the adjacent Sambas district where the tribe’s larger population resides.
Key Findings
- The expedition collected approximately 8 mammal species, 40 bird species, 3 snakes, 1 lizard, several frogs, myriapods, land molluscs, and a modest insect assemblage over six days on the mountain (p. 4).
- Funambulus everetti, a typical Bornean mountain squirrel, was recorded from Mt. Poi, extending its known range westward from Mts. Kina Balu and Penrissen; Pitta arcuata (ground-thrush) was likewise recorded for the first time from western Borneo (pp. 4–6).
- Two new earthworm species were described by Dr. Michaelsen of Hamburg: Pheretima poiana (an individual over 10 inches long) and Pheretima moultoni (found at 5,000 ft.) (p. 9).
- A new Rutelid beetle, Anomala morio, was identified by Dr. Ohaus, and a new Hispid, Botryonopa moultoni, was named by Dr. Gestro from specimens collected at Lundu (pp. 8, 12).
- The Lucanid Odontolabis waterstradti, previously known only from Kina Balu since its 1900 description, was taken near the summit of Mt. Poi, with the male measuring 2¾ inches from mandible tip to elytral apex (p. 8).
- Camp altitude was recorded at 3,300 ft. and the summit (Gunong Rumput) at 4,350 ft., both approximately 1,000 ft. lower than the figures recorded by Beccari (1866) and Foxworthy (1908); shade temperatures ranged only 60°–70° Fahrenheit throughout the stay (p. 9).
Conclusion
Moulton’s definitive historical takeaway is biogeographical rather than taxonomic: the recurrence of Kina Balu endemics on Mt. Poi, despite the vast distance and the absence of those species from intervening mountains of younger geological formation, points to a shared faunal heritage rooted in the ancient granitic substrata of Borneo’s oldest peaks. The article thus frames Mt. Poi not merely as a local curiosity but as a critical western anchor point for understanding the distribution and isolation of Bornean highland biota.
Context
- Moulton wrote as Curator of the Sarawak Museum, a colonial scientific institution under the White Rajah administration; the expedition was a formal inter-museum collaboration between Singapore and Sarawak, reflecting the network of colonial natural-history institutions operating in the Straits Settlements and protectorates at the time.
- The article draws on identifications provided by a range of European specialists (Robinson, van Roon, Ohaus, Moser, Fleutiaux, Aurivillius, Gestro, Michaelsen, Bower, Burkill), illustrating the collaborative, correspondence-based taxonomy typical of early twentieth-century colonial natural history.