New mammal discovered in Zambales

A new species of one of the most unusual Philippine mammals has been discovered at the top of Mt. Tapulao, also called High Peak, in Zambales.

The new mammal is a species of Rhynchomys, also called tweezer-beak. These small mammals belong to a very distinctive group of rodents that live only on Luzon Island. Two species were discovered before — one in the Central Cordillera and another in Mt. Isarog in Bicol. They have a very long snout with tiny teeth, which they use to grab earthworms and weigh only about 140 grams. They live in the high-elevation mossy forest, which is the only type of habitat where they live.

The new species was found during a biodiversity survey of small mammals in Mt. Tapulao conducted by biologists Danilo Balete and Joel Sarmiento from Laksambuhay Conservation of Los Banos, with collaboration from Josefa Veluz of the National Museum of the Philippines, Philip Camara of the SAMBALI Foundation, and Lawrence Heaney from the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago. The specie will be scientifically described and named next year.

According to Danilo Balete, leader of the expedition, finding the tweezer-beaks "was a great surprise, since other tweezer-beaks live only in very high mountains." Moreover, Mt. Tapulao has not been thoroughly surveyed for biodiversity "and was incorrectly believed to have very few interesting mammals. Instead, they found at least nine species of small mammals, including several Apomys (forest mice), Chrotomys (striped earth-mice), shrews, and the tweezer-beak, plus some very interesting bats.

The survey also documented some of these unusual mammals at lower elevations, down to 600 meters, in both mature and regenerating forest. Mt. Tapulao supports the headwaters of many of the major rivers in Zambales and Pampanga, and is viewed by the local communities as a crucial watershed. According to Camara, "protecting both the mature and regenerating forest would serve the needs of the people for a steady, reliable supply of clean water, and help provide protection against floods and droughts."

A portion of Mt. Tapulao has been considered a protected area under the National Integrated Protected Areas (NIPAS) legislation, but discussion has not included either the peak or the regenerating forest in the foothill areas.