Trus Madi Range (16002)
Malaysia, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B2
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Trus Madi Range
Central coordinates: Latitude: 5.6667, Longitude: 116.5500
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 700 to 2667
Area of KBA (km2): 657.94837
Protected area coverage (%): 67.10
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: (I) Physical CharacteristicsThe mountain range of Trus Madi follows a major north-east-south-west trend and is strongly dissected into steep sided valleys and narrow-crested ridges. It is separated from Banjaran Crocker by the Tambunan-Keningau-Tenom plain. Banjaran Trus Madi forms the watershed between three of the largest rivers in Sabah State namely the Pagalan, Labuk and Kinabatangan. Gunung Trus Madi (2,642 m asl), the second highest mountain in Sabah State, is located this range. The mountain itself was formed from mudstone, shale and argillite mildly metamorphosed in places to slate with subordinate beds of quartzite, sandstone, siltstone and limestone breccias (Collenette, 1958 cited in Acres, 1972).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: A total of 143 species of birds were identified in a survey in 1983 (Sheldon and Francis, 1985). The highlands is the second most important area for Bornean endemics and montane species after Kinabalu supporting globally threatened birds like the Mountain Serpent-eagle Spilornis kinabaluensis and the Near Threatened Bornean Frogmouth Batrachostomus mixtus (Smythies, 1999). Non-bird biodiversity: Thirty-six species of mammals identified in a survey in 1983 (Payne and Francis, 1985; Sheldon and Francis, 1985). (I) Globally threatened mammals (IUCN, 2002): ENDANGERED: Mountain Spiny Rat Maxomys alticola; VULNERABLE: Smooth-tailed Treeshrew Dendrogale melanura, Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca nemestrina, Jentink's Squirrel Sundasciurus jentinki, Common Porcupine Hystrix brachyura; NEAR THREATENED: Brooke's Squirrel Sundasciurus brookei, Bornean Gibbon Hylobates muelleri, Long-tailed Macaque M. fascicularis, Pangolin Manis javanica; DATA DEFICIENT: Malayan Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus (II) Globally threatened reptiles (IUCN, 2002): No information.(III) Globally threatened plants (IUCN, 2002): CRITICAL: Nepenthes macrophylla; VULNERABLE: Nepenthes lowii
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The flora of Banjaran Trus Madi is less well known than that of Gunung Kinabalu. Lowland and hill dipterocarp forest occurs at the foothill of the highland whereas on the higher plane montane oak forest and montane ericaceous forest dominates with its floral species composition typical of that on Gunung Kinabalu (Acres, 1972). Endemic pitcher plants such as Nepenthes trusmadiensis, rhododendrons and orchids can be found in the area (Henry Colman, 2001). Eighty-seven species (47 genera, 16 families) of ferns including as new species have been recorded between 300-1,400 m asl (Jumaat H. Adam and Abdullah Muhammad, 1989).
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Logging activities occur at the foothills of Trus Madi and the logging road has reached almost to its summit (Stuebing, pers. comm.).
Additional information
References: Acres, B.D. 1972. The Ascent of Trusmadi. Sabah Society Journal 5(4): 365-370.Henry Colman. 2001. Wonder - and dismay - at Trus Madi. New Straits Times, 12 May.IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.redlist.org (23 June 2003).Jumaat H. Adam and Abdullah Muhammad. 1989. The Ferns of the Trusmadi Range. Sabah Society Journal 9(1): 68-84.Mann, C.F. In prep. Check-list of the birds of Borneo. Tring: British Ornithologists' Union.Moyle, R.G. and Wong, A. 2002. The Lower Montane Avifauna of Mt. Trus Madi. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 50(1): 199-204.Payne, J. and Francis, C.M. 1985. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Society, and Petaling Jaya: WWF Malaysia.Sheldon, F.H. and Francis, C.M. 1985. The Birds and Mammals of Mount Trusmadi. Sabah Society Journal 8(1): 77-88.Sheldon, F.H., Moyle, R.G. and Kennard, J. 2001. Ornithology of Sabah: History, Gazetteer, Annotated Checklist, and Bibliography. Ornithological Monographs 52: 1-285.WWFM. 1997. National Ecotourism Plan Malaysia. Part 2. Ecotourism Potential: Site Listings. Prepared for the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Federal Government of Malaysia. Malaysia: World Wide Fund for Nature.