Sierra Madre Tree-mouse

How to write Sierra Madre Tree-mouse in Baybayin! (Da-Ga-Ng Pu-No Ng Si-Ra Ma-D-Ri)

Near the center of the Philippines’ longest mountain range lives the Sierra Madre Tree-mouse!

It lives high on Mount Anacuao, which is where it gets its’ scientific name: Musseromys anacuao. Only three of them have ever been collected at a height of 1,725 meters or 5,700 feet in the sky! However scientists recommend that more surveys be done in the Northern Sierra Madre… it might also live on other mountains there 1.

Sierra Madre tree-mouse Musseromys anacuao by Danilo Balete. May 2, 2010.

Mouse cousins

Among all the 4 Musseromys species that we know, it is most closely related to the Mt. Pulag tree-mouse (Musseromys beneficus) 2. All 4 of them have a common ancestor which existed millions of years ago, most likely in the Cordillera mountain range in the west 1.

Unlike your family tree which shows relationships between relatives, this is a “phylogenetic tree”: it shows relationships between species! The Mt. Pulag Tree-mouse and the Sierra Madre Tree-mouse are closely-related, despite them living on completely different mountain ranges. There is a good chance that the species split occurred thanks to a “bridge”: the Caraballo Mountain Range. It connects both the Cordillera and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges (special thanks to a comment regarding this on the Facebook page).

Also illustrated with the Sierra Madre Tree-mouse is a beautiful orchid species: Dendrobium chrysographatum. It can also be seen in areas where the tree-mouse was found 3.

Dendrobium chrysographatum. See the real one here!

The Sierra Madre mountain range stretches from Cagayan province in northern Luzon, all the way down to Quezon province. That is a distance of about 500 kilometers (300 miles) 4 ! Mt. Anacuao is an important watershed for several provinces 5.

Around 70 km southwest of Mt. Anacuao lies the Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed. This alone provides water for more than 60,000 farmers and their farm irrigation needs, which in turn provides food for local communities 6.

Why is this species important?

  • It lives in forest where people not only enjoy the outdoors by trekking or hiking, but where people also are dependent on forest resources (i.e bamboo, firewood, medicine). This species is a sign of how healthy the forest is. If the forest is not healthy enough for it, the forest is not healthy enough to sustain human health, and happiness.
  • These forests are ecosystems, or places where life and the physical environment together form connected relationships and sustain each other 7. The forest ecosystem is important because they deliver water to us, and they absorb carbon dioxide and help control our climate 8.
  • These species live on what we call Sky Islands. These are ancient areas of biodiversity high on top of mountains in the Philippines. We may not have temples like the long lost Aztecs or our neighboring Cambodians, but we have a living heritage: our Sky Islands!
Sky island infographic.

How you can help

  • Reach out to local DENR offices in Aurora province and ask how you can volunteer or assist in existing programs, or even surveys of these areas. One possible office to start could be the Provincial Environmental and Natural Resources Office or PENRO of Aurora.
  • Read studies and examples of successful conservation efforts that empower local communities. Use your resources to connect local organizations in the Sierra Madre with support, funding, training, and more to start or continue local conservation efforts.
  • If you are not from communities in the Sierra Madre or are too far to visit, research into national forest laws that you can support, like the Forest Resources Bill.
  • Donate or volunteer with local environmental NGOs working in the Sierra Madre like the Haribon Foundation, Mabuwaya Foundation, and more.
  • Continue educating yourself and others on the importance of local biodiversity and ecosystems for people, and the planet.
  • Share the infographic below!
Get the high-resolution art print on Society6.

This artwork and research is dedicated to the late Danilo Balete

Danilo Balete was involved in the discovery of more than half of the known small mammals in the Philippines 9. Originally from Bicol, Balete introduced conservation measures on Mt. Isarog with the Haribon Foundation, and later worked on the Philippines mammal project of The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois in the United States 10.

Danilo Balete passed away in 2017.

“It is extraordinary that so many new species of mammals remain to be discovered in the Philippines… In the past 10 years we’ve published formal descriptions of 10 other species, and other biologists have described five more. And we are nowhere close to the end of our discoveries. The Philippines may have the greatest concentration of unique species of animals of any country in the world.”

-Danilo Balete, in an article in the ScienceDaily, “Seven new species of mammals discovered on Luzon, Philippines” (2011).

Cloud Rats of the Philippines

See more art or support my work

  • Buy the infographic on an art print.
  • Support my work and the production of visual informational materials for Philippine biodiversity (& more) at my Patreon.

Sources

  1. Heaney, Balete, et al. 2014. Three New Species of Musseromys (Muridae, Rodentia), the Endemic Philippine Tree Mouse from Luzon Island.
  2. Heaney, Balete, et al. 2016. Mammals of Luzon Island.
  3. Pelser et al, 2011, Co’s Digital Flora of the Philippines. Last accessed May 19, 2019. Text in the link above for Dendrobium chrysographatum indicates that it can be found in the province Mt. Anacuao is located in (Aurora) at around 500 to 2,000 meters. M. anacuao was found at 1,700 meters.
  4. Haribon Foundation. Sierra Madre – From 1988 to 2010. Last accessed May 19, 2019.
  5. Heaney, Balete, et al., 2013. The Small Mammals of Mt. Anacuao, Northeastern Luzon Island, Philippines: A Test of Predictions of Luzon Mammal Biodiversity Patterns.
  6. R. Lasco, R. Cruz, et al., 2012. Assessing climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation: The case of pantabangan-carranglan watershed.
  7. Khan Academy. “What is an ecosystem?” (Last accessed May 7, 2019).
  8. Sciencing.com. “The Importance of the Forest Ecosystem“. (Last accessed May 7, 2019).
  9. J. Alvarez. 2017. “Danny Balete: One of the finest field biologists the Philippines has ever seen.” University of the Philippines Los Baños. (Last accessed May 7, 2019).
  10. E. Gatumbato. 2017. “Danny B, a conservation hero.” The Visayan Daily Star.

Publish date: May 22, 2019. Updated: January 26, 2021.