Palawan, officially the Province of Palawan, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of 14,649.73 km2 (5,656.29 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Puerto Princesa wherein it is geographically grouped but administered independently from the province. Palawan is known as the Philippines' Last Frontier and as the Philippines' Best Island.
The garden sunbird, previously known as the olive-backed sunbird, is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae that is found in the Philippines except on the Palawan island group. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with seven other species: the ornate sunbird, Palawan sunbird, Sahul sunbird, Tukangbesi sunbird, Flores Sea sunbird, South Moluccan sunbird and the Mamberamo sunbird. It is a small, brightly coloured bird with olive-green plumage on the wings and back with a bright yellow chest. It has a long downward-curved bill it uses for taking nectar and capturing insects. It is primarily nectarivorous, but will take insects and spiders, particularly when feeding chicks.
Ahaetulla prasina is an arboreal, moderately venomous species of opisthoglyphous vine snake in the family Colubridae, found in Southern and Southeast Asia. Its common names include the Asian vine snake, Boie's whip snake, Gunther's whip snake, and the Oriental whip snake.
The hair-crested drongo is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo in D. hottentottus as subspecies.
The slender smooth-hound or gollumshark is a species of ground shark in the family Pseudotriakidae. It is endemic to the waters around New Zealand, where it is usually found close to the bottom over the continental slope at depths of 300–600 m (980–1,970 ft). An extremely slim, plain brownish shark reaching 1.1 m (3.6 ft) in length, the slender smooth-hound can be identified by its broad, flattened head with a long, distinctively bell-shaped snout. Its mouth is angular with short furrows at the corners, and contains a very high number of tooth rows in both jaws. Its two dorsal fins are roughly equal in size.
The false catshark or sofa shark is a species of ground shark in the family Pseudotriakidae, and the sole member of its genus. It has a worldwide distribution, and has most commonly been recorded close to the bottom over continental and insular slopes, at depths of 500–1,400 m (1,600–4,600 ft). Reaching 3.0 m (9.8 ft) in length, this heavy-bodied shark can be readily identified by its elongated, keel-like first dorsal fin. It has long, narrow eyes and a large mouth filled with numerous tiny teeth. It is usually dark brown in color, though a few are light gray.
The Pseudotriakidae are a small family of ground sharks, belonging to the order Carcharhiniformes, containing the false catsharks and gollumsharks. It contains the only ground shark species that exhibit intrauterine oophagy, in which developing fetuses are nourished by eggs produced by their mother.
The pygmy ribbontail catshark is a species of finback catshark, family Proscylliidae, distributed patchily in the western Indo-Pacific from Tanzania to the Philippines. It occurs around the edges of continental and insular shelves at a depth of 71–766 m (233–2,513 ft), typically on or near mud bottoms. One of the smallest living shark species, the pygmy ribbontail catshark grows to a maximum known length of 24 cm (9.4 in). It has a slender body with a low, ribbon-like tail fin, and is dark brown in color with blackish dorsal fin markings and tail bands. This shark feeds mainly on bony fishes, followed by crustaceans and then squid. It is aplacental viviparous with females bearing litters of 1–2 relatively large pups. It is of minimal significance to fisheries, being caught as bycatch in some areas.
The dark shyshark or pretty happy is a species of catshark, belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to the temperate waters off southern Namibia and western South Africa. It is benthic in nature and inhabits shallow, inshore waters and favors rocky reefs and kelp forests. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) long, this small, stocky shark has a wide, flattened head with a rounded snout and a large flap of skin extending from before the nostrils to the mouth. Its dorsal coloration is extremely variable and may feature black-edged orange to blackish saddles and/or white spots on a light brown to nearly black background.
The longfin catshark is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae found in the western Pacific from Japan to the Philippines, and the East and South China Seas, and the Kyūshū-Palau Ridge, at depths between 530 and 865 m. Its length is up to 48 cm.
The Panama ghost catshark is a lesser known catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae. This catshark is only found off Panama, between 9°N and 2°N. The reproduction of the Panama ghost shark is oviparous.
The longnose catshark is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae found in the eastern central Pacific from central and southern California and the Gulf of California, between latitudes 38° N and 23° N, at depths down to 1,890. Its length is up to 58 cm.
Gollum is a genus of ground sharks in the family Pseudotriakidae, native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The genus was described in 1973 by biologist Leonard Compagno, who named it named after the character Gollum from J. R. R. Tolkien's works, noting the species Gollum attenuatus "bears some resemblance in form and habits".
The Palawan hornbill is a large forest bird endemic to the Philippines. It is one of the 11 endemic hornbills in the country. It is only found in Palawan and nearby islands of Balabac, Busuanga, Calauit, Culion and Coron. It is locally known as "talusi" in the language Cuyunon. It is threatened by habitat loss, hunting and trapping for the cage-bird trade.
The Mantanani scops owl, is a small owl in the scops-owl genus Otus found on small islands between Borneo and the Philippines. It is listed by the IUCN as "near threatened" because its range is limited with its population being fragmented on several different islands, and its forest habitat is being degraded by ongoing logging and clearance.
Comitas suluensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudomelatomidae,.
The wildlife of the Philippines includes a significant number of endemic plant and animal species. The country's surrounding waters reportedly have the highest level of marine biodiversity in the world. The Philippines is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries and is a global biodiversity hotspot. In 2013, 700 of the country's 52,177 species were listed as threatened.
Asperdaphne suluensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.
The Pasonanca Natural Park is a protected area that preserves a major watershed in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in the Zamboanga Peninsula. It contains the headwaters of the Tumaga River in the southern Zamboanga Cordillera mountain range that serves the water requirements of some 800,000 residents in Zamboanga City. It was named after the village of Pasonanca located in the city's northern fringes where the Pasonanca Park, a public eco-park, and the Abong-Abong Park, a pilgrimage site, can also be found.
Ramphotyphlops suluensis, also known as the Sulu Islands worm snake, is a species of blind snake that is endemic to the Philippines. The specific epithet suluensis refers to the type locality.
