WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- An international team of researchers identified a new species of shrew in Palawan Island, providing clues to what makes the Philippines an ideal environment for mammals.
The Palawan moss shrew or Palawanosorex muscorum, as described in a paper in the Journal of Mammalogy on Tuesday, has a slender, pointed snout and dark coat, living around 1,500 meters above sea level.
Rainer Hutterer, a German zoologists and the paper's lead author, analyzed its anatomical traits to determine that the Palawan moss shrew was a distinct species.
The team has found that unlike other shrews, its tail is covered in dense fur rather than visible scales. With broad forefeet and long claws, the Palawan moss shrew digs through humus in search of its favorite snack: earthworms.
Co-author Jacob Esselstyn from the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science said, "It provides some clues about how small mammals have evolved and moved between Asia and Africa."
The Palawan moss shrew might help us figure out how the Philippines' many mammal species got there in the first place, according to researchers.
Mt. Mantalingahan, a mountain on Palawan Island in the Philippines, is habitat to three unique mammal species, including the shrew.
The mountain is proved to be a hotbed for biodiversity, with isolated mountaintops home to distinct habitats separate from the lowlands and neighboring mountains
Mt. Mantalingahan also functions as a crucial watershed, regulating the flow of water in Palawan through natural processes. In the mountain, humus, the low-density mountainous soil the Palawan moss shrew digs through, acts as a sponge, holding water from the frequent rainfall high-elevation places tend to experience.
Now, much of the Palawan moss shrew's habitat remains undisturbed by human activity.
