The Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests is an ecoregion on
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
The ecoregion occupies elevations above 1000 meters in the Titiwangsa Mountains, which form the mountainous backbone of the Malay Peninsula. It also includes ranges to the east in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang states. The highest peak in the Titiwangsa Mountains is Mount Korbu at 2,183 meters elevation. Other peaks include Mount Tahan (2,188 m), the highest peak in peninsular Malaysia, and
Mount Benum
Mount Benum or Mount Benom ( ms, Gunung Benom) is a mountain in the state of Pahang in Malaysia. Its summit is above sea level.
See also
* List of Ultras of Southeast Asia
* List of mountains in Malaysia
* Jerantut
* Raub District
* Krau Wildlif ...
(2,130 m). The ecoregion is surrounded at lower elevations by the ecologically-distinct Peninsular Malaysian rain forests.Saw, Leng Guan. (2010). Vegetation of Peninsular Malaysia.Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment.'' Washington, DC: Island Press.
Flora
The montane forests are made up of evergreen trees, which form a canopy 10-20 meters high. The tree canopy is lower than the lowland forests and lack emergent trees, and the trees mostly and lack buttressed roots and have smaller glossy-green leaves. Ephiphyes, including orchids, ferns, mosses, and lichens, are more abundant.
Above 1000 meters elevation, the dipterocarps that characterize the lowland forests become fewer, and trees in the beech family (
Fagaceae
The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergre ...
) become predominant, including evergreen oaks (''Quercus'') and species of ''
Lithocarpus
''Lithocarpus'' is a genus in the beech family, Fagaceae. Trees in this genus are commonly known as the stone oaks and differ from ''Quercus'' primarily because they produce insect-pollinated flowers on erect spikes and the female flowers have ...
'' and '' Castanopsis''. Trees in the Myrtle family (
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...
) and
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s are also common, including species of ''
Agathis
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely re ...
, Dacrydium'', and '' Podocarpus''.
Upper montane forests occur above 1500 meters elevation. Trees form a flat-topped canopy from 1.5 to 18 meters high. Epiphytes, including orchids, ferns, leafy liverworts, and lichens, are abundant. Common trees include species of '' Dacrydium, Daphniphyllum, Eurya, Ficus, Gordonia, Ilex,
Leptospermum
''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...
Lithocarpus
''Lithocarpus'' is a genus in the beech family, Fagaceae. Trees in this genus are commonly known as the stone oaks and differ from ''Quercus'' primarily because they produce insect-pollinated flowers on erect spikes and the female flowers have ...
Ternstroemia
''Ternstroemia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Pentaphylacaceae. It is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.Tristaniopsis'', and '' Weinmannia fraxinea''.
Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
s are common shrubs, especially on acidic and peat soils.
Fauna
The ecoregion home to several large and endangered mammal species – Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), gaur (''Bos gaurus''), tiger (''Panthera tigris''), sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus''), Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''),
clouded leopard
The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...
(''Neofelis nebulosa''), and siamang (''Symphalangus syndactylus''). The
Malayan mountain spiny rat
The Malayan mountain spiny rat (''Maxomys inas'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found only in Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of State ...
(''Maxomys inas'') is the only endemic mammal. The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis'') once inhabited the forests, but Malaysia's last rhinoceroses died in 2019, and the species' few remaining members survive only in
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.
The ecoregion is home to over 250 species of birds, including the endangered Malayan crested argus (''Rheinardia nigrescens''), and the threatened endemic
mountain peacock-pheasant
The mountain peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron inopinatum''), also known as Rothschild's peacock-pheasant or mirror pheasant, is a medium-sized, up to 65 cm long, blackish brown pheasant with small ocelli and long graduated tail feathers. Bo ...
Grik Wildlife Reserve
Gerik ( Jawi: ڬريق; ; Tamil: கிரிக் ; alternate spelling: Grik) is a mukim and the district capital of Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The town is also known as Rest Town owing to its strategic location next to East-West ...
(518.0 km²), and
Bukit Kutu Forest Reserve Bukit, the Indonesian or Malay word for hill, may refer to:
* Bukit Peninsula
The Bukit Peninsula (Indonesian: ''Semenanjung Bukit'') is at the southern end of the island of Bali, Indonesia. It is traditionally considered to be the entire area so ...
(24.43 km²) in the Titiwangsa Mountains. Royal Belum State Park adjoins Bang Lang National Park and
Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary
300px, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary.
Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าฮาลา-บาลา) is a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, considered to be one of the richest forests ...
in Thailand, which protect the Thai portion of the ecoregion. Taman Negara National Park (4524.54 km²) includes Mount Tahan and the montane forests to the east, as well as lowland and hill forest."Malaysia". ''Protected Planet''. Accessed 15 May 2020 /ref>