Published April 23, 2021, 11:02 PM
Giant cloud rat species weighing about a kilogram once roamed the Philippines based on the discovery of a team of scientists from the University of the Philippines (UP), National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), and the US Field Museum of Natural History.
In a news posted on the UP website on Friday, April 23, the scientists based their findings on the fossilized remains of the three extinct giant cloud rat species, locally known as “buot” or “bugkun,” which were known to have lived thousands of years ago.
The newly recorded fossil species were unearthed from Callao Cave and several adjacent smaller caves in Peñablanca, Cagayan.
Rediscovery of the “extinct” Pinatubo volcano mouse
A small mouse rediscovered on a volcano that erupted 30 years ago provides hope for wildlife conservation in the Philippines.
In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo, a volcanic peak on the Philippine Island of Luzon, literally blew its top. It was the second-most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century, ten times stronger than Mount Saint Helens, and its effects were devastating. Lava and ash spewed into the surrounding environment in the Zambales Mountains, pooling in layers up to 600 feet thick in the valleys. Following the eruption, powerful typhoons and monsoon rains triggered landslides and ash flows that continued for many months. Eight hundred people lost their lives, and the lush forests that covered the mountain prior to the eruption were destroyed or severely damaged. In recent years, scientists returned to the region to survey the surviving mammal populations, and in a new paper in the Philippine Journal of Science,
It’s tough to stand out in the world of mice. The long-nosed Luzon forest mouse did it by living inside an active volcano in the Philippines – earning it the name Pinatubo volcano mouse. Unfortunately, Mount Pinatubo on the island of Luzon erupted violently on June 15, 1991, killing over 800 people, the lush forests that covered its slopes … and the last of the Pinatubo volcano mice. Or so it was thought. After not having been seen in decades, a recent survey of the volcano – which still shows evidence of the devastation – found the Pinatubo volcano mice somehow survived and are making a comeback.