Ficus auricoma, Trus Madi: First photographs and first Sabah record

The first record for Sabah of Ficus auricoma  photographed next to the roadside at 1,200m asl on the slopes of Gunung Trus Madi in central Sabah.

There are only two previous records of this Borneo endemic, (1) Hills of Central Sarawak and (2) The slopes of  the Meratus Mountain range in South Kalimantan.

The Sabah location is disturbed hill forest with two similar fig species locally common in the area, Ficus brunneoaurata and Ficus endospermifolia both Borneo endemics.

Ficus auricoma has never been recorded in Sabah before.

Mount Trus Madi is the second highest mountain in Borneo  (2,642m asl) after Mount Kinabalu (4,095 asl).

The summit of Trus Madi is almost exactly 50km due south of the summit of Kinabalu but the climbing trail is longer.

Thanks to Yulinda Wahyuni, Shavez Cheema and Chun Xing WONG of 1 Stop Borneo Wildlife