2 days ago
UP biologists help discover 3 new species of Philippine forest mice
Three new species of Philippine forest mice have been discovered in Mindoro.
During their expedition to the Mindoro forest from 2013 to 2017, field biologists led by Filipino scientist Dr. Danilo Balete observed three forest mice, distinct from the large Mindoro forest mouse (Apomys gracilirostris), an endemic species.
Along with Dr. Mariano Roy Duya and Melizar Duya of the UP Diliman College of Science Institute of Biology and some biologists from the United States, the team analyzed the genes, fur, and skull structures of forest mice.
The team confirmed that the three mice were new species after nearly a decade of laboratory work.
In honor of the late Maria Josefa 'Sweepea' Veluz, a mammalogist at the country's National Museum of Natural History, the three mouse species were named A. veluzi, A. crinitus, and A. minor.
With the recent discovery, the number of endemic mammals on Mindoro Island rose from nine to 12.
The study on the three new species of Philippine forest mice was published in the journal Zootaxa. — VBL, GMA Integrated News
