University of Mindanao (UM) researchers along with members of the California Academy of Sciences and the Euro Generics International Philippines (EGIP) Foundation have named a new species of “easter egg” beetle after the Obu Manuvu tribe of Davao City.
The new beetle, Pachyrhynchus obumanuvu, has a green and red coloring with “metallic light yellow-green markings” that resemble the traditional garments worn by members of the Obu Manuvu tribe.
The discovery, led by UM’s Dr. Analyn Cabras and Dr. Milton Norman Medina, Dr. Matthew Van Dam from the California Academy of Sciences, and Mr. Joshua Donato from the EGIP Foundation, coincided with the celebration of National Indigenous People’s Month in October.
The team’s findings were officially published in an article in the Baltic Journal of Coleopterology in November 2021.
“Pachyrhynchus obumanuvu was discovered in the remaining heavily forested areas in Mindanao, particularly in the ancestral domain of the Obu Manuvu in the western side of Davao city,” the article reported.
Dr. Cabras of the UM Coleoptera Research Center explained that the team named the beetle to honor Filipino indigenous communities found in the Davao region.
“We wanted to honor the various indigenous communities in Davao region since they are the primary stakeholders of our mountain ecosystems and also because the specimen was collected from their ancestral lands,” said Dr. Ann Cabras in the University of Mindanao news release.
A new flowering plant species found in Mindanao was named to honor University of the Philippines Diliman scientist Dr. Perry S. Ong.
The discovery of the two new marine species in Balut Island of Davao was also recorded by the California Academy of Science.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to researchers from the University of Mindanao (UM), the California Academy of Sciences, and the Euro Generics International Philippines (EGIP) Foundation for naming a new species of “easter egg” beetle after the Obu Manuvu tribe of Davao City.
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