A new species of reed snake, genus Calamaria (Colubridae: Calamariinae), from Mindoro Island, Philippines

We describe a new species of reed snake of the genus Calamaria Boie 1827, from Mindoro Island, Philippines. The new species differs from all other species of Calamaria by having the following combination of characters: a high number of subcaudal scale pairs (> 40 in males, > 30 females) and ventrals + subcaudals (> 205 in males, > 210 in females); mental scale not contacting chin shields; dorsal surface of head, body, and tail uniformly dark brown; and ventral surface of body (extending to include part or all of first longitudinal row of dorsals) uniformly pale (yellow or white in life). The new species is likely most closely related to Calamaria schlegeli Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril 1854, which also has a high number of subcaudal scales compared to other Calamaria species. The new species is the second Calamaria species known from Mindoro Island and the eighth known from the Philippines, and its presumed distant relationship from other Philippine Calamaria suggests an additional colonization of the Philippines by this genus from continental Asia. KEYWORDS: biodiversity, biogeography, Calamaria alcalai new species, Serpentes, Squamata, systematics

A comparative diversity study of myxomycetes in the lowland forests of Mt. Malasimbo and Mt. Siburan, Mindoro Island, Philippines

Million years ago, the island of Mindoro separated from mainland Asia. Its geologic origin led to many species distinct from Asia and the other islands of the Philippines. In this study, two lowland mountain forests – Mt. Malasimbo (MM) in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, and Mt. Siburan (MS) in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro – were surveyed for myxomycetes. The combined opportunistic sampling in the field and the setting up of 1,260 moist chamber cultures retrieved a total of 1,007 fruiting body collections representing 50 species from 17 genera. A relatively higher number of taxa (49 species) was recorded in Mt. Siburan than in Mt. Malasimbo (36). Seventeen species were classified as rare with only four taxa that were widely distributed in both study sites, namely, <em>Arcyria cinerea</em>, <em>Perichaena pedata</em>, <em>Diderma hemisphaericum</em>, and <em>Lamproderma scintillans</em>. Higher species diversity and richness were noted for Mt. Siburan than Mt. Malasimbo, but a clear similarity in species composition (CC = 0.80) and abundance (PS = 0.72) can be observed between forest sites. This suggest that lowland natural forest habitats of Mt. Malasimbo and Mt. Siburan are hotspots of myxomycete diversity. This research represents the most comprehensive survey of myxomycetes in Mindoro Island.

Sparsorythus sescarorum, new species from Mindoro, Philippines (Ephemeroptera, Tricorythidae)

A new mayfly species, Sparsorythussescarorumsp. n. (Tricorythidae) is described from Mindoro Island, Philippines. Nymphs are characterized by the combination of the following characters: compound eyes of approximately equal size in both sexes, shape and setation of legs, presence of rudimentary gills on abdominal segment VII, and some details of mouthparts. Male imagines are characterized by the coloration pattern of wings and details of genitalia. The developmental stages are matched by DNA barcodes.

Vegetation analysis along the altitudinal gradient of Mt. Ilong, Halcon Range, Mindoro Island, Philippines

Villanueva ELC, Buot, JrIE. 2018. Vegetation analysis along the altitudinal gradient of Mt. Ilong, Halcon Range, Mindoro Island, Philippines. Biodiversitas 19: 2163-2174. The vegetation of Halcon Range is diverse, unique, and culturally important; however, there is a very limited information on its altitudinal distribution and structure, leading to the formation of land uses that trigger problem in sustainable management decisions for the mountain. This study analyzed the vegetation in land use types distribution along the altitudinal gradient of Mt. Ilong, Halcon Range, Mindoro, Philippines. Fourteen plots of 10 x 10m were established along the slope from 100m-1400m elevation. The tree species that were sampled from the plots were subjected to classification and ordination analyses. The dendrogram showed three distinct vegetation zones corresponding land use types: Zone I (agroforest land use zone), Lansium-Artocarpus-Swietenia-Ficus-Nephelium-Mangifera zone; Zone II (forest land use zone), Cyathea-Astronia-Syzygium-Garcinia-Ficus-Psydrax-Diplodiscus zone; and Zone III (forest land use zone), Agathis-Suli-Alitugba-Ardisia zone. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that elevation, temperature and pH level are the environmental variables that strongly influenced the vegetation distribution in various land uses, a characteristic that is similar to other tropical mountains.

Redescription of a Philippine endemic freshwater calanoid copepod, Pseudodiaptomus brehmi Kiefer, 1938 (Copepoda, Calanoida, Pseudodiaptomidae)

The genus Pseudodiaptomus is represented by 19 species in Philippine coastal waters. Of all these species found in the Philippines, P. brehmi Kiefer, 1938 is the only known truly freshwater pseudodiaptomid endemic to this country, which was originally described from Lake Naujan, Mindoro Island. After numerous attempts to find it in its type locality, we concluded that the former is no longer extant in this lake and has now been displaced by the invasive Neotropical calanoid Arctodiaptomus dorsalis (Marsh, 1907). Sampling in Lake Taal, on the nearby island of Luzon, resulted in the surprise discovery of P. brehmi populations coexisting with A. dorsalis. This rediscovery of P. brehmi in Lake Taal and its absence from its type locality, necessitate this report as well as the species’ morphological redescription.