NMP RECEIVES HOLOTYPE SPECIMENS FROM FIELD MUSEUM MAMMALOGIST

The National Museum of the Philippines officially received a collection of holotype specimens from Dr. Lawrence R. Heaney, a distinguished mammalogist and biogeographer from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, last July 29.

The turnover features 48 zoological holotypes of rats and bats, 3 archaeological mammal holotypes from Callao Cave, and 604 additional zoological specimens collected from various regions across the Philippines, including Mount Kitanglad, Mount Pulag, Mount Banahaw, the Sierra Madre mountains, as well as Lubang, Mindoro, Sibuyan, and Camiguin islands. These will be part of the NMP’s National Zoological and National Archaeological Collections, further advancing research in mammalogy, biodiversity, and conservation.

The specimen turnover by Dr. Heaney was attended by NMP representatives led by Director-General Jeremy Barns, Acting Deputy Director-General for Museums Arvin Manuel Villalon, OIC Directors Maileen Rondal (National Museum of Natural History), Dr. Marriane Ubalde (National Museum of Anthropology), and Anne Rosette Crelencia (National Museum of Fine Arts), Zoology Division Curator Marivene Manuel-Santos, and Archaeology Division Curator Dr. Mary Jane Louise Bolunia, as well as staff from various NMP divisions. Also present were University of Melbourne students under Dr. Nicole Tse, lecturer at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and a longtime collaborator of the National Museum.

Dr. Heaney’s extensive research in the Philippines began in 1981, particularly in the country’s forested mountain regions, and has resulted in groundbreaking discoveries in the taxonomy and biogeography of Philippine mammals. His collaboration with Filipino scientists has fostered important advancements in biodiversity conservation, and the newly acquired specimens are expected to serve as crucial references for future scientific studies.

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