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4 20 2021 New species Mt HamiguitanMt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) in Davao Oriental has revealed yet another species that is new to science- a snout beetle with bronze scale markings, thus named Metapocyrtus bronsi sp. nov.

The newly described species is a result of biodiversity research conducted by the scientists and researchers from the Central Mindanao University (CMU), the DENR’s long-time conservation partner.

They collected the species in the buffer zone of MHRWS, settling on leaves of ferns. The researchers said that this flightless weevil is one of the hundreds of species under the genus Metapocyrtus. But these new beetles differ from all the others because of the yellow gold to bronze scale markings with green to blue scales scattered at the edge of the markings in elytra and pronotum and legs entirely black.

“Under the insect order Coleoptera (Beetles), there are currently two site endemic species in Mt. Hamiguitan, first is Colilodion colongi, and the latest, the Metapocyrtus bronsi.”, said Clint Michael Cleofe, a MHRWS-based DENR conservationist.

The researchers further expressed that MHRWS, being the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mindanao, must be conserved for the perpetuity of the flora and fauna habituating in it.