Some species of fireflies have been spotted in various habitats such as primary and secondary forests, freshwater swamp, mangrove, grassland and scrublands. To date, Singapore has 14 species of fireflies identified, including the Singapore firefly. Some of them were also observed flying low while emitting flickering yellow flashes in the shrubs and at the fringe of the forest between 8pm to 10pm during the surveys.īetter understanding of its ecology and distribution is necessary The adults were observed to congregate within a very small area at a specific location, perched and flashing on a fern. Their habitat is the swampy area with dense vegetation, damp leaf litter, and high soil moisture, the paper described. The Singapore firefly is a small species of less than 5mm long. More about Singapore firefly and their habitat “This study underscores the importance and utility of molecular methods that can provide solutions to problems that are otherwise difficult to resolve using traditional approaches,” explains Chan Kin Onn, co-author of the paper and a Museum Officer at LKCNHM. Some 30 years since its initial discovery in 1989, the researchers are finally able to confirm that the Singapore firefly is genetically and morphologically distinct from other fireflies after conducting intricate dissections to examine internal organs of the fireflies and employed modern DNA techniques through a method called genome skimming.
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I immediately contacted my colleagues at NParks and we arranged a series of night surveys.”ĭiscovery made possible with modern techniques “We thought the specimens collected in 2009 were the only ones of the unidentified species until I started examining the firefly collection in LKCNHM and found three additional specimens collected 20 years prior. Furthermore, it did not fit the descriptions of any known firefly species to-date,” says Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh, the lead author of the paper and Research Fellow at LKCNHM.
“When we first encountered this species, we knew it was interesting because the specimens were collected from a freshwater swamp forest in the central catchment area of Singapore-fireflies are rarely reported from this type of habitat.
The researchers then went back to the same area at Nee Soon Swamp Forest to conduct night surveys in 20. In a 2009 nationwide survey of fireflies at 14 sites in Singapore, 11 species were documented, including the Singapore firefly, which was an unidentified species back then.Īfter examining the specimens at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), the researchers found that firefly specimens collected in 19 from the same area were morphologically similar to Singapore firefly. While Singapore is a highly urbanised city, fireflies have a scattered distribution and are not as uncommon as what we urban dwellers might assume.
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