Rare and Smallest Endangered Creatures in the Philippines

RARE AND SMALLEST ENDANGERED CREATURES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Traveling is like a career and a first-hand experience closer to nature, to history, events and the classic man-made in general. One gets more secretive to the environment and its distinct inhabitants and appreciates the beauty of creation.

Here are some of the rare creatures found in this country and most of them are in the list of being endangered.

The Smallest Bats

The Philippines has at least 56 species of bats. It is home to the smallest and the largest bats among the 1,000 known species in the world.

Image Credit     FLAT HEAD BAT

The smallest bat in the world is the Philippine bamboo bat (vespertilionid), which belongs to the vespertilionid family. This bat measures about four centimeters (1 1/2 inches) in length and has a wingspan of 15 cm. approximately, it weighs 1.5 grams (1/20 ounce).

World's Smallest Hoofed Mammal

South of Palawan lays the Balabac Island, home of the world's smallest hoofed mammal - the Philippine mouse deer. Locally known as Pilandok (Tragalus nigricans), this ruminant stands only about 40 centimeters at the shoulder level.

In other countries, it is called chevrotain, or simply mouse deer. Contrary to its name, pilandok is not a member of the deer family. It belongs to the family Tragulidae in the mammalian order Artiodactyla. The male species has no antlers like those of a real deer. Instead, it uses its large tusk-like canine teeth on its upper jaw for self-defense; in the same way a deer uses its antlers.

World's Smallest Monkey

In many respects, the Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) is different from other animals. Considered as the world's smallest primate, it measures only about twelve centimeters in length. Its two big eyes cannot move and do not have a tapetum - the upper protective tissue. Because of this, the Philippine tarsier has learned to turn its head 180 degrees. It has also two grooming claws on each foot and an almost bald tail extending about nine inches.

World's Smallest Fish

The world's smallest freshwater fish is found in the Philippines. The dwarf goby (Pandaka pygmaea) measures 1.2 centimeters or less than half of an inch, the tiniest known vertebrate. American Ichthyologist Albert Herre first discovered it in Malabon River in 1925.

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Most Endangered Deer

One of the world's rarest mammals lives in the dwindling forest of Panay Island. It is the Philippine spotted deer (Cervus alfredi), considered by many as the most endangered deer in the planet.

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Calamian Deer

Calamian Islands, north off Palawan province, keep a species of deer that cannot be found elsewhere. Scientists referred to the hog deer in the islands as Calamian deer in order to distinguish them from other hog deer in the world.

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A Bear nor a Cat

Palawan bear-cat is neither a bear nor a cat. Known in Southeast Asia as binturong, the bear-cat is a species of its own, with population in the forests of Palawan, Borneo, Burma and Vietnam. It belongs to the family of Viverridae (civets).

The Palawan bear-cat has a long body and a pointed face leading to the nose. Its head and body measure 61 to 96 centimeters in combined length while its tail is almost as long. It weighs 9 to 14 kilograms and lives up to 20 years.

Endangered Cockatoos

The Philippines is home to some of the world's most exotic birds. Scientists have documented 577 bird species around the Philippine archipelago. Of this number, 185 species are endemic to the country. The Bird Life International listed 116 of them as "threatened" or "near-threatened".

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Exotic Seahorses

More than 500 of the world's 700 coral species are found under the waters of the Philippines, which is a part of the Coral Triangle - a region in the Pacific Ocean.

Seahorses are small saltwater fish belonging to the Syngnathidae family (order Gasterosteiformes), which also includes pipe-fish and sea dragons. Most seahorse species, probably the most peculiar creatures in the water, live in the Coral Triangle. There are at least 50 known seahorse species in the world. They inhabit temperate and tropical waters but most of them are concentrated in the warm coastal waters of the Philippines.

Largest and Smallest Shells

Both Tridacna gigas, one of the world's largest shells, and Pisidum, the world's tiniest shell, can be found under Philippine waters. Tridacna gigas grows as large as one meter in length and weighs 600 pounds while Pisidum is less than 1 millimeter long. A shell called glory of the sea (Connus gloriamaris) is also found in the Philippines and considered as one of the most expensive shells in the world.

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SOURCE

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