Gymnures, also called hairy hedgehogs or moonrats, are mammals belonging to the subfamily Galericinae, in the family Erinaceidae and the order Eulipotyphla. Gymnures resemble rats but are not closely related as they are not rodents; they are instead closely related to hedgehogs, which also belong to Erinaceidae. They are thought to have appeared in Eastern Asia before their closest relatives, and changed little from the original ancestor, which is thought to have been also the ancestor of the shrews.
Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla has been shown to be monophyletic; Soricomorpha is paraphyletic because Soricidae shared a more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with other soricomorphs.
Batomys is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. It has six extant described species.
Nepenthes mindanaoensis is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippine islands of Mindanao and Dinagat.
The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: Batomys, Carpomys, Crateromys, Musseromys, and Phloeomys. They range in size from as large as 50 cm (20 in) to as small as 74 mm (2.9 in). Cloud rats are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Several species are endangered or critically endangered.
Podogymnura is a genus of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. It contains the following species:
Podogymnura truei, also known as the Mindanao gymnure, Mindanao moonrat, or Mindanao wood shrew, is a mammal of the family Erinaceidae. It is endemic to the Mindanao islands of the Philippines. Erinaceidae is a family of small mammals that include the gymnures, also known as the silky furred moonrats, and the hedgehogs. Animals belonging to this family are significant because they are among the oldest known placental mammals that are alive. Gymnures are relatives of hedgehogs but lack the prickly spines. Four species are categorized in the genus Podogymnura: P. aureospinula, P. intermedia, P. minima, and P. truei. All share a close resemblance to the moonrat Echinosorex gymnura, which is commonly found on the Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsulas.
Nepenthes peltata is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the upper slopes of Mount Hamiguitan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is characterised by a peltate tendril attachment and conspicuous indumentum. The species typically produces ovoid pitchers with a prominent basal crest and large nectar glands on the lower surface of the lid.
Kitanglad Mountain Range is a mountain range that dominates the northern central portion of the province of Bukidnon. It occupies portions of eight of the municipalities and cities in the province such as Talakag, Baungon, Libona, Manolo Fortich, Impasugong, Lantapan and Malaybalay. The range is one of the few remaining rainforests in the Philippines, hosting one of the most important diverse species of rare and endemic wildlife such as the Philippine eagle. Five of its peaks have very high elevations: Mount Dulang-dulang, the highest at 2,941 m (9,649 ft); Mount Kitanglad at 2,899 meters; Mount Maagnaw at 2,742 meters; Mount Lumuluyaw at 2,612 meters; and Mount Tuminungan at 2,400 meters.
Mount Hamiguitan is a mountain located in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. It has a height of 1,620 metres (5,315 ft). The mountain and its vicinity has one of the most diverse wildlife populations in the country. Among the wildlife found in the area are Philippine eagles and several species of Nepenthes. Some of the latter, such as the Nepenthes peltata and Nepenthes micramphora, are endemic to the area. The mountain has a protected forest area of approximately 2,000 hectares. This woodland is noted for its unique pygmy forest of century-old trees in ultramafic soil, with many endangered, endemic and rare species of flora and fauna.
The Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat is one of five species of rodent in the genus Batomys. It is in the diverse family Muridae. This species is found only in the Philippines. is a yellow-brown animal with a long furry tail, weighs about 175 grams, and is related to several other species known in Central Mindanao, Dinagat Island and Luzon. It lives only in an area that's at least 950 meters high, and in dwarf mossy forests less than 10 square kilometers.
Nepenthes micramphora is a tropical pitcher plant known only from Mount Hamiguitan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is a highland plant growing at elevations of 1100–1635 m.
In mammals, ungual tufts are tufts of hairs at the base of claws of the forefeet and hindfeet. Their presence has been used as a character in cladistic studies of the Cricetidae, a large family of rodents.
Nepenthes hamiguitanensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to a single peak on the Philippine island of Mindanao, where it grows at elevations of 1200–1600 m above sea level. Once thought to be a natural hybrid between N. micramphora and N. peltata, this plant is now considered a species of possible hybridogenic origin. It produces squat upper pitchers that vary greatly in pigmentation, from red speckled to yellow throughout.
Mount Data is a mountain located in the Cordillera Central mountain range rising to a height of 2,310 metres (7,580 ft) in the north of Luzon Island, Philippines. It is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Baguio on the borders of the provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province along the Halsema Highway. The mountain and surrounding area has been declared a national park since 1936. In 1940 the park was expanded to 5,513 hectares. The slopes of the mountain are covered with pine forests and mossy oak forests.
Rafflesia verrucosa was first identified and characterized during a small mammal survey of Mt. Kampalili in eastern Mindanao in 2010. R. verrucosa is the tenth species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines. Rafflesia species have rare and unusual flowers known for their large size and pungent smell. Some plant enthusiasts like Frits W. Went have gone to extreme measures to see these plants in bloom. Went detailed his search for Rafflesia saying,
"I had heard, when I was in Java many years ago, that Rafflesia were to be found on an offshore island named Nusah Kembangan. This was in 1929, when it was a penal colony for major criminals. My driver on this occasion was a convicted murderer, and my guide was serving time for cannibalism."
Julie F. Barcelona is a Filipina botanist and taxonomist working as Research Associate at University of Canterbury. She is mostly known for her research on the Philippine members of the genus Rafflesia.
Lawrence Richard Heaney is an American mammalogist, ecologist and biogeographer. His research focus is the mammals of the Philippines.
Nepenthes alfredoi is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines on the Mt. Hamiguitan Range on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where it grows at elevations of 160–345 m above sea level.
The Kampalili shrew-mouse or the Kampalili baletemys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only species in the genus Baletemys. It is found only on Mount Kampalili, in the highlands of eastern Mindanao, in the Philippines.
