The Camiguin forest mouse (''Apomys camiguinensis'') is a forest mouse endemic to the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Mi ...

in the southern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It has large ears and eyes, a long tail and rusty-brown fur, and it feeds mostly on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s and

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s. This description is based on mice captured during a biological survey conducted in 1994 and 1995 high on the steep slopes of one of the island's

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

es. In April, 2006, the new mammal, a Philippine forest mouse, now identified as ''Apomys camiguinensis'' was captured on the steep slopes of a volcano of

during a biological survey by Heaney and Tabaranza. In 2002, Heaney, Tabaranza, and Eric Rickart (from the

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Museum of Natural History), described a different species of forest-living rodent, ''

Bullimus gamay Camiguin forest rat, or Camiguin bullimus (''Bullimus gamay'') is one of three species of rodents in the genus ''Bullimus''. It is endemic to the island of Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; ...

'', from Mt. Timpoong, the same mountain where the new mouse was collected. A frog ('' Oreophryne nana'') named in 1967 had been thought to be the only vertebrate restricted to the island prior to the surveys by Heaney and Tabaranza. The scientists' research was described in the April 5 issue of Fieldiana: Zoology, a scientific journal about biodiversity research published by The Field Museum. It is endemically distributed to Dinagat (FMNH),

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

( Benguet SNM

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte an ...

MNH and Isabela MNHprovinces) and

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

(FMNH). It is abundant in primary montane forest (1125 – 1350 m), uncommon in mossy forest (1550 – 1750 m), and absent in disturbed lowland forest (475 – 900 m) on Mt. Isarog, southern Luzon, and also in montane forest at 925 m elevation in Balbalasang,

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

Province.''Apomys musculus''
The Field Museum

References

;Notes ;Sources * Heaney, L.R., Tabaranza Jr, B.R., Balete, D.S. and Rigertas, N. (2006) Synopsis and biogeography of the mammals of Camiguin Island, Philippines. Fieldiana Zoology, 106: 28-48. * Heaney, L.R. and Tabaranza Jr, B.R. (2006) Mammal and land bird studies on Camiguin Island, Philippines: Background and conservation priorities. Fieldiana: Zoology, New Series, 106: 1-13. * Heaney, L.R. and Tabaranza Jr, B.R. (2006) A new species of forest mouse, genus Apomys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Muridae) from Camiguin Island, Philippines. Fieldiana: Zoology, New Series, 106: 14-27.

External links

''Two new species discovered, bolster case for Philippine conservation,''
aribon Foundation.
Aseanbiodiversity.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1971209 Apomys Rodents of the Philippines Mammals described in 2006 Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Camiguin