Photo taken by @christianziegler in #Sabah / #Borneo. Big lick: Rajah’s pitcher plant (Nepenthes rajah), has the largest of all pitchers, with up to 3 liters content. The species is endemic to higher elevations of the Mt. Kinabalu area and listed as endangered in the IUCN red list. This pitcher plant species has a mutualistic relationship with some small mammals, especially the mountain tree shrew: the plant offers nectar from glands on it’s lid, which is frequently licked off by the tree shrews in the daytime and some nocturnal rat species at night. While licking, the mammals frequently defecate into the pitcher thus supplying the plant with much needed phosphorus and nitrogen. A beautiful example for the evolution of a mutualism. Part of a story that I am posting in more detail on @christianziegler. @thephotosociety @natgeocreative @iLCP_photographers #rainforest #conservation #jungle #ecology #mutualism
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