via the Borneo Post, 27 March 2022: Henri Mouhot’s writings popularised Angkor to the western world, but he was also a natural historian – this story draws a connection to a spider described in northern Laos to one found in Sabah.
I discovered that the spider in the Danum Valley was the very same genus that Mohout’s spider had eventually become known as Poltys. We needed a photograph of the spider, Poltys mouhotii, hoping that it may at least bear a resemblance to our spider. The old days of research would have seen me visiting the British Library, requesting a paper, paying for the privilege, and then waiting two weeks for it to arrive. Today at the touch of a key we expect and receive instant answers. Within minutes I sat staring at a picture on my screen.
The spider Poltys mouhotii, found in 1862 by Henri Mouhot, and the spider we had found in Sabah in 2016 are for all intents and purposes identical. Mouhot’s original collection site was in the Northern Lao Mountain range near to the border of Laos and Thailand, but our spider had been found in Sabah, in a lowland forest area some 1,931km away from the original collection site.
I could not believe the amazing coincidence that a journey that had started out through a fleeting interest in a virtually unknown French Naturalist and a chance discovery in his obscure diary would end with a direct connection between this great man and ourselves. I felt a sense of personal pride and yet overwhelming sadness when I thought of this young man, dying alone in a jungle, with so much more still to offer the world.
Source: Discovering Angkor Wat and Danum Valley’s amazing connection
