Molecular data confirm the presence of Nycticebus bengalensis on Langkawi Island, Malaysia

BADRUL MUNIR MD ZAIN (National University of Malaysia)
KHAIRUL SYA’ADAH MOHHOYUA (School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia)
NOR RAHMAN AIFAT (School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia)
EHWAN NGADI (School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia)
NORSHAQINAH AYOB (School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia)
JEFFRINE JAPNING ROVIE-RYAN (Department of Wildlife and National Park (DWNP) Peninsular Malaysia, Km 10 Jalan Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
AHMAD AMPENG (Sarawak Forest Department, Wisma Sumber Alam Jalan Stadium, 93660 Petra Jaya, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia)
ABD RAHMAN MOHD-RIDWAN (Centre for Pre-University Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia)
MARY E BLAIR (5Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024, United States)
MUHAMMAD ABU BAKAR ABDUL-LATIFF (Centre of Research for Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources (CoR-SUNR), Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (Pagoh Campus). 84000, Muar, Johor, Malaysia)

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 20 No. 4 (2019)

Abstract. Md-Zain BM, Mohhoyua KS, Aifat NR, Ngadi E, Ayob N, Rovie-Ryan JJ, Ampeng A, Mohd-Ridwan AR, Blair ME, Abdul-Latiff MAB. 2019. Molecular data confirm the presence of Nycticebus bengalensis on Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 20: 1115-1120. Recent taxonomic reviews have stated the possibility of Bengal Slow Loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) presence in the Northern part of the Malay Peninsula. This study aims to confirm the presence of the Bengal Slow Loris in Malaysia by sequencing the mitochondrial COI gene from samples collected from Langkawi Island, Peninsular Malaysia, and Borneo. Phylogenetic analyses produced tree topologies that support the grouping of slow loris samples by their localities. The tree topologies further show that slow loris samples from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia form two distinct clades. The clade from Peninsular Malaysia was divided into two subclades, Langkawi and Selangor. The Langkawi slow loris subclade includes sequences from GenBank representing N. bengalensis, supported by a high bootstrap value. This mitochondrial DNA finding has a significant contribution to indicate the presence of the Bengal Slow Loris in Malaysia.