The Philippine Menagerie

The Philippine Menagerie

At present, 86 species of birds and 52 species of mammals

found in the Philippines are under various threatened categories
such as: Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Endangered, Critically
Endangered, and Extinct in the Wild.
Island also present opportunities for new species to develop,
since they are geographically isolated from one another. In this
case, nearly 70% of all subspecies of birds are endemic to the
Philippines, with almost all being endemic to one species island
only.
 The Philippine Menagerie

The Philippines, except for the Palawan group of islands,

is part of the region known as Wallacea.
Wallacea, named after scientist Alfred Wallace, that sits
between the Asian Sundan Shelf on the west and
Australian Sahul Shelf on the on the east.
On the other hand, Palawan, a group of islands that
includes mainland Palawan, Bacbac, Cuyo, and the
Calamian group, makes up a nothern extension of borneo.
The Philippine Menagerie
 The Philippine Menagerie

Lawrence Heaney reported in 1985 that 42% of

mammals in the Palawan are endemic , almost all of them
closely related to species found in Borneo. Some 58% of
Palawan mammals can be found in both Palawan and
Borneo.

The Herpetofauna of Palawan are closely related to those

of Borneo but not to those of Mindoro or Luzon.
 The Philippine Menagerie

 Greater Luzon
 Greater Mindanao
 Greater Negros-Panay
 Greater Palawan
 Greater Sulu
 Greater Mindoro
 Greater Sibuyan
 Greater Babuyan
 The Philippine Menagerie

The Philippines is very small archipelagic land mass in

comparison to continents of North and South America,
Africa, and Australia.
The Philippine is also part of coral triangle.
“hot-test of the hotspot”
Spanish colonizer, 94% of land area of tropical rain forest
or about 280,000 square kilometer.
 The Philippine Menagerie

In 1946, 40 % forest cover or about 120,000 square

kilometers remaining
In 1990, that was down to 21 % forest cover or 61,000
square kilometers only.
In 1985, it was estimated that the country was losing
3,000 square kilometers of forest yearly. By 1991 that was
down to 1700 square kilometers of forest every year.
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Stegodon Mindanensi
The first largest mammal reported from the Philippines. It is first
collected by Karl Semper in 1859 0r 1860.
 The Philippine Menagerie
Other large mammal fossils find from the Philippines include two
species of elephants:

Elaphas Beyeri Elephas Namadicus

 The Philippine Menagerie

Stegodon Triginocephalus
Stegodon Sinensis
Stegodon Luzonensi
Stegedon Mindanensi
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Bubalus Mindoronensis
 Other large fossil vertebrates found only in Mindoro
island.
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In 1953, Albert Herre prepared a checklist of Philippine

fishes, and listed 2,117 species.
In 1995, R. M. de la Paz and E. D. Gomez updated this list
and include new species counting 2,140.

Harengula Tawilis
Mistichthys Luzonensis
Pandaka Pygmea
The Philippine Menagerie

Harengula Tawilis
 The Philippine Menagerie

Harengula Tawilis
Locally known as ‘tawilis’
Found only in Lake of Taal,
Batangas
15 cm and weighing less than 30
In 1980 as Sardinella tawilis and listed Tawilis as one of
18 species of Sardinella in the Indo-Pacific Region.
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Mistichthys Luzonensis (female)

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Mistichthys Luzonensis

Mistichthys Luzonensis (Male)

 The Philippine Menagerie

Mistichthys Luzonensis

Locally known as sinarapan

Found only in Lake Buhi, Lake Bato, and Camarines Sur.
Considered the smallest commercial fish
It measures 1 and 1.4 centimeters with the males smaller
than females.
The Philippine Menagerie

Pandaka Pygmea
 The Philippine Menagerie

Pandaka Pygmea

dwarf-pygmy goby
World smallest vertebrate
It size ranges from 7.5 to 11 millimeters
females slightly bigger than males
Found only in Navotas and Malabaon River
 The Philippine Menagerie

Philippines one of the richest endemic line-ups of reptiles

and amphibians in the world.
Angel C. Alcala acknowledge as Filipino expert on
Philippine herpetofauna.
66 species of amphibians
Icthyophis Monochrous, also known as caecilian
The Philippine Menagerie

Icthyophis Monochrous
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able to complete their life cycle without the need to be near

a land-based water source.
Philautus
two species of cave dwelling frogs:
- Platymantis Insulatus ( isolated forest frog)
- Platymantis Spelacus ( Negros cave frog)
The Philippine Menagerie
 The Philippine Menagerie

Great eagles called by names: Mana-ol, Mambugo-

ok, Agila.
The Philippine eagle is the great eagle of Asia, one of
the largest in the world.
It stands up to 3.5 feet tall with a wingspan of about 2
meters
Characterized by massive arched bill, razor-sharp
talons and pointed crown feathers which form a
crest.
It is found in Sierra Madre range in Luzon and
islands of Mindanao, Samar and Leyte.
The Philippine Menagerie
 The Philippine Menagerie

Snake, lizard, turtle and crocodile are the four

major groups of reptiles and level of endemism in each
group ranges from 10 percent in turtles to 76 percent
in lizards.
The King Cobra found in in the Philippines and
most of Southeast Asia, is rarely encountered.
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King Cobra
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Butaan or Gray’s monitor lizard it is the only

lizard in the world that has a diet of fruits and snails
and is restricted only to southern Luzon.
 The Philippine Menagerie

Ibid or the sail-fin lizard – is an oviparous lizard

living in the Philippine.
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Two species of crocodiles are locally known as

buwaya and Crocodylus Mindoronensi or
Philippine crocodile.
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Crocodylus porosus an estuarine or saltwater

crocodile and inhabits inland lakes and headwaters
of rivers.
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End