Tag Archives: Cebu

Edolisoma coerulescens ssp. alterum Wardlaw-Ramsay

Cebu Blackish Cicadabird (Edolisoma coerulescens ssp. alterum)

The Blackish Cicadabird (Edolisoma coerulescens (Blyth)) is endemic to the Philippines, where three subspecies are recognized, of which two again are now considered extinct, leaving only the nominate race which inhabits the islands of Catanduanes and Luzon in the northern part of the Philippines.

***

The Cebu Blackish Cicadabird, which was endemic to the island of Cebu, was described in 1881, originally as a distinct species.

The form was not recorded since 1906 and probably died out sometimes after that date due to the extreme deforestation of its habitat.

***

syn. Coracina coerulescens ssp. altera (Wardlaw-Ramsay), Edolisoma alterum Wardlaw-Ramsay

*********************

Blackish Cicadabird (Edolisoma coerulescens); nominate form

Photo: Forest Botial-Jarvis
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/tiluchi
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

*********************

edited: 06.02.2024

Anixa propitia (Fulton)

Big Anixa Snail (Helicostyla propitia)  

The Big Anixa Snail species was described in 1907, it is endemic to the island of cebu, Philippines..

This is a rather large species with shells reaching up to 4 cm in diameter, it is closely related to Morelet’s Anixa Snail (Anixa moreleti) and differes from that species in being much larger, and having a thicker shell with a much lighter-colored epidermis. [1] 

This species appears in lists of extinct species, but I’m not quite sure if it indeed is extinct, since other, closely related species, also having been considered extinct, subsequently actually rediscovered.

*********************   

References:

[1] Hugh C. Fulton: Descriptions of new species of Trochomorpha, Cochlostyla, Amphidromus, Bulimulus, Drymaeus, Placostylus, Stenogyra, Leptopoma, Cyclophorus, Cyclotus, and Alycaeus. The Annals and magazine of natural history; Zoology, Botany, and Geology ser. 7, Vol. 19(110): 149-157. 1907

*********************

Depiction from: ‘Hugh C. Fulton: Descriptions of new species of Trochomorpha, Cochlostyla, Amphidromus, Bulimulus, Drymaeus, Placostylus, Stenogyra, Leptopoma, Cyclophorus, Cyclotus, and Alycaeus. The Annals and magazine of natural history; Zoology, Botany, and Geology ser. 7, Vol. 19(110): 149-157. 1907’

(public domain)

*********************

edited: 17.06.2020

Anixa moreleti (Pfeiffer)

Morelet’s Anixa Snail (Anixa moreleti)  

Morelet’s Anixa Snail was described in 1848, it is endemic to the island of Cebu in the Philippines.

***

“Wie Pfeiffer richtig vermuthete, lag ihm ein abgeriebenes Stück vor; frische sind mit einer gelbbraunen, gestriemten und blitzartig gestreiften Oberhaut versehen. Sie ist höheren Formen der vorigen Art [Anixa callodes] im ganzen ähnlich, aber grösser, die Oberhaut besitzt einen starken Fettglanz und die letzte Windung zeigt an der Peripherie eine eigenthümliche Abplattung. Die Art wurde uns in einiger Anzahl von einem Einwohner des Dorfes Boljoon gebracht, doch konnten wir leider nicht constatieren, ob sie mit der von dort stammenden hohen Form der C. carbonaria zusammenlebt. oder ob sie, wich ich annehmen möchte, aus einem anderen Winkel desrselben Insel stammt. Jedenfalls ist sie aus keinem anderen Theil der Insel gebracht worden und dürfte ganz local beschränkt sein. Ihr näheres Vaterland war bisher noch nicht bekannt.“

translation:

“As Pfeiffer suspected rightly, he had an abraded specimen in front of him; fresh ones have a yellow-brown, streaked and zigzagy striped epidermis. It is generally similar to higher forms of the previous species [Anixa callodes], but is larger, the epidermis has a strong oily sheen on it and the last whorl shows a peciular flattening on the periphery. The species was brought to us in some numbers by a resident of the village of Bojoon, but unfortunately we could not establish whether it lives together with the high form of C. carbonaria. or whether, as I like to suppose, comes from another corner of the same island. In any case, it has not been brought from any other part of the island and should be very likely absolutely local. Its closer homeland has not been known yet.” [1]

The shells reach sizes of about 2,5 cm in height.

*********************

References:

[1] C. Semper: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen: Wissenschaftliche Resultate, zehnter Band: Landmollusken. Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zum III. Bande: Die Landmollusken von Dr. O. F. von Möllendorff. Nach dessen Tode auf Grund seinen Nachlasses fortgeführt von Dr. Wilhelm Kobelt und Frau Gertrud Winter, geb. von Möllendorff. Achtes Heft. Wiesbaden; C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag 1910

*********************

Depiction from: ‘C. Semper: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen: Wissenschaftliche Resultate, zehnter Band: Landmollusken. Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zum III. Bande: Die Landmollusken von Dr. O. F. von Möllendorff. Nach dessen Tode auf Grund seinen Nachlasses fortgeführt von Dr. Wilhelm Kobelt und Frau Gertrud Winter, geb. von Möllendorff. Achtes Heft. Wiesbaden; C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag 1910’ 

(not in copyright)

*********************

edited: 17.06.2020

Anixa pfeifferi (Semper)

Pfeiffer’s Anixa Snail (Anixa pfeifferi)  

Pfeiffer’s Anixa Snail was described in 1889 (?), it originates from a locality near of what today is the city of Dalaguete at the eastern coast of the island of Cebu in the Philippines.:

“Auch die Verbreitung dieser Art ist sehr beschränkt: weiter nach Südost tritt schon bei Boljoon eine Form der C. carbonaria an ihre Stelle, auf der Westseite jenseits der Centralkette haben wir C. zebuensis bereits erwähnt.” 

translation:

“The distribution of this species is also very limited. further to the southeast, a form of the C. carbonaria takes its place, on the western side beyond the central ridge we already have mentioned C. zebuensis.” [1]

The shells of this species reach sizes of 2 cm in heigth and nearly 4 cm in diameter.

*********************

References:

[1] C. Semper: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen: Wissenschaftliche Resultate, zehnter Band: Landmollusken. Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zum III. Bande: Die Landmollusken von Dr. O. F. von Möllendorff. Nach dessen Tode auf Grund seinen Nachlasses fortgeführt von Dr. Wilhelm Kobelt und Frau Gertrud Winter, geb. von Möllendorff. Achtes Heft. Wiesbaden; C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag 1910

*********************

Depiction from: ‘C. Semper: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen: Wissenschaftliche Resultate, zehnter Band: Landmollusken. Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zum III. Bande: Die Landmollusken von Dr. O. F. von Möllendorff. Nach dessen Tode auf Grund seinen Nachlasses fortgeführt von Dr. Wilhelm Kobelt und Frau Gertrud Winter, geb. von Möllendorff. Achtes Heft. Wiesbaden; C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag 1910’ 

(not in copyright)

*********************

edited: 17.06.2020

Oriolus steerii ssp. assimilis Tweeddale

Cebu Oriole (Oriolus steerii ssp. assimilis)

The Philippine Oriole, as its name implies, is endemic to the Philippine Islands, with five subspecies being usually recognized. The subspecies from the island of Cebu, almost right in the middle of the Philippine archipelago, was described in 1878, originally as a distinct species.

The Philippines are well known to be among the most severely deforested places in the tropics with some islands having been almost completely ripped from their native vegetation, this is also the case with Cebu, where only very, very small remnants of the former forest remain, leading to the near or even complete extinction of many of its native ornithofauna. 

The Cebu Oriole was last seen in 1906 and was usually considered extinct, however, there appears to have been a sighting in the early 2000s, which has never been confirmed.

***

The most recent field studies undertaken in the years from 2001 to 2004 actually manage to rediscover 20 of the species respectively subspecies of birds that were thought to have been extirpated from Cebu, many of them endemic to the island, four of the endemic subspecies, however, were not rediscovered and are now clearly extinct. 

Among these four subspecies was the Cebu Oriole. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Lisa Marie J. Paguntalan; Philip Godfrey Jakosalem: Significant records of birds in forests on Cebu Island, central Philippines. Forktail 24: 48-56. 2008

*********************

Depiction from: ‘Arthur, Marquis of Tweeddale: Contributions to the ornithology of the Philippines. – No. II. on the collection made by Mr. A. H. Everett in the island of Zebu. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1877: 755-769’

(public domain)

*********************

edited: 25.05.2019

Coracina striata ssp. cebuensis (Ogilvie-Grant)

Cebu Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike (Coracina striata ssp. cebuensis)

The Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike includes 14 subspecies which occur from the mainland of Southeast-Asia to the Philippines.

***

The subspecies that once was restricted to the island of Cebu, Philippines, was described in 1896, originally as a distinct species. 

The bird reached a size of about 30 cm, it was more or less completely grey in color.

The Cebu Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike has last been recorded in 1906, it disappeared sometimes after that date due to the almost complete deforestation of the island’s forests.

***

syn. Artamides cebuensis Ogilvie-Grant

*********************

edited: 18.06.2019