National Museum to get new species’ specimens

National Museum to get new species’ specimens
By HELEN FLORES
The Philippine Star
February 3, 2007

Specimens of newly discovered marine species found by a joint Filipino-French research project on the island of Panglao in Bohol will be turned over Sunday to the National Museum, the French embassy in Manila said.

Some 50 species of holotype specimens will be turned over to the museum.

A holotype is single specimen or "illustration" designated as the type for naming a species or subspecies. It is also used as the basis for naming a species or subspecies when no type has been selected.

The French embassy said a year-long research of fauna conducted in the deep-sea and coastal ecosystems of Panglao Island resulted in the discovery of over 1,200 species of decapod or 10-legged crustaceans and some 6,000 species of mollusks.
Decapod crustaceans characteristically have five pairs of locomotor appendages each joined to a segment of the thorax, such as crab, shrimp and lobster. Marine mollusks are also called shellfish.

The Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project was conducted as a joint effort of the University of San Carlos and the French National Museum of Natural History from 2004 to 2005. It was funded by the French government and Total Foundation, which is based in the French capital of Paris.

The embassy said holotypes must be kept in museums or reputed institutions where they will be made available to scientists worldwide.
To push the research forward, the French embassy said a five-year program to explore the deep-water fauna of the Philippines titled "Census of Philippines Deep-Sea Biodiversity" will be formally announced during the turnover ceremony.

On its own, Panglao has a higher level of biodiversity compared to Japan, which barely exceeds 1,600 species, and the Mediterranean, which covers 300 million hectares and has 340 species of decapods and 2,024 species of mollusks, the French embassy said.

The embassy said that, with a total of 80 participants from the Philippines, other ASEAN countries, Europe and the United States, the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project was the most comprehensive survey of deep-sea invertebrates ever conducted anywhere in the tropics.
The Philippines is located in the "Coral Triangle," which contains the highest number of known marine species.

The turnover ceremony will be witnessed by French Ambassador Gérard Chesnel, National Museum Director Corazon Alvina, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Malcolm Sarmiento, and Dr. Tin-Yam Chan of the Taiwan University of Oceanography, among other guests.