The Philippines' mountains are among the most biodiverse locations on the globe. These foggy cloud woods have more distinct species of animals per square mile than any other place on Earth.
Even the most experienced scientists struggle to find these creatures, most of which are small and difficult to see. But the late scientist Danilo Balete was particularly gifted in the subject.
One of the mice he discovered was discovered to be an entirely new genus, not simply a new species. And protecting this mouse might mean saving the endangered Philippine gigantic eagles that share its home.
Shrew mouse cold protect giant eagles
FRANK RUMPENHORST/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
According to Larry Heaney, curator of mammals at Chicago's Field Museum and senior author of the paper describing the new mouse in the Journal of Mammalogy, "we've learned just how incredibly important the Philippines are in terms of being home to mammals that are found nowhere else," and "a lot of that knowledge can be traced back to fieldwork led by Danny Balete," as per ScienceDaily.
According to Dakota Rowsey, the study's first author, vertebrate collections manager at Arizona State University, and research associate at the Field Museum, naming a new species after anyone is a big deal, a major honor given to people who make long-term, high-impact contributions to biodiversity science.
One of the finest honors that scientists can confer is naming a new species after someone."
The Philippines' mountainous geography contributes to its biodiversity. Its high mountains are cooler and wetter than the surrounding lowlands, making it difficult for small mammals to move from one mountaintop to another.
As an outcome, they tend to remain secluded on their own "sky islands," going to evolve separately from one another establishing new species.
In 2007 and 2010, Balete led expeditions to Mount Kampalili on the island of Mindanao as part of a collaboration between the Field Museum and the Philippine Eagle Foundation, which wanted to know what mammals coexisted with one of the world's largest and most critically endangered birds, the Philippine Eagle.
Balete and the team made an unexpected find on Mount Kampalili: a dark brown mouse with small eyes and a long, tapering nose like a shrew, unlike anything he'd ever seen on the island. It reminded him of mice he'd seen hundreds of miles away on the Philippine island of Luzon.
Three fresh mouse specimens were sent to the Field Museum for further examination to support Balete's theory. Despite Balete's death, his colleagues continued to analyze the specimens he collected in the field.
Rowsey, a postdoctoral researcher with Heaney at the time, undertook a DNA examination of the shrew mouse and discovered that Balete was correct: the rodent was unlike any other species known to science.
The DNA testing revealed that the new mouse was not connected to the species found in the northern Philippines, but rather to those found in Mindanao.
It appears to be a spectacular instance of convergence, in which distantly related species have independently evolved to resemble one other in ways that allow them to utilize the environment and resources in comparable ways.
The Philippines is one of the world's 18 mega-biodiverse countries, accounting for two-thirds of the planet's biodiversity and 70% to 80% of the world's plant and animal species, as per Convention in Biological Diversity.
The Philippines ranks sixth in terms of plant species diversity, retaining 5% of the world's flora.
Endemism is highly high, with at least 25 plant species and 49% of terrestrial animal endemism, and the nation ranks fourth in bird endemism.
With at least 700 vulnerable species, the Philippines is also one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, ranking among the top worldwide conservation regions.
The national list of endangered faunal species was developed in 2004 and comprises 42 land mammal species, 127 bird species, 24 reptile species, and 14 amphibian species.
The Philippines has at least 3,214 fish species, 121 of which are indigenous and 76 of which are endangered.
In 2007, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued an administrative order that established a nationwide list of threatened plant species, showing that 99 species were severely endangered, 187 endangered, 176 vulnerable, and 64 other threatened species.
This unique biodiversity is sustained by a diverse range of ecosystems, landscapes, and habitats, the majority of which are also in danger from human activity.
According to the FAO definition, the Philippines contains 7.2 million hectares of forest ecosystems, accounting for about 24% of total land area.
However, it is projected that between 2000 and 2005, the Philippines lost 2.1% of its forest cover yearly, ranking second in Southeast Asia (behind Myanmar) and eighth in the globe. The agricultural ecosystem of the nation is also notable.
The Philippines is a hub of diversity for rice, coconut, mung bean, taro, and yam, as well as a center of origin and variety for bananas in Southeast Asia.
