#spiritsofspecies

We once had Rhinos in the Philippines! They lived in the Pleistocene (a time period between 2.6 million years ago and about 11,000 years ago). Their fossils were found in Cagayan Valley and even Metro Manila in Taguig. In 2013, an almost-complete skeleton of a rhino was found in Kalinga, which was about 709,000 years old. Not only that, it had "butcher marks", telling us early humans were in the Philippines that far back too. In a recent study, scientists show how this extinct Philippine rhino was related to another extinct rhino from Taiwan, and that it might have swam from Taiwan to Luzon sometime around 7 million years ago! Read more from PO Antoine et al, "A new rhinoceros clade from the Pleistocene of Asia sheds light on mammal dispersals to the Philippines," published this year. Artprint: https://society6.com/product/philippine-rhino-on-undas-or-dia-de-los-muertos-nesorhinus-philippinensis_print

Once upon a time, long, long ago, the cousins of elephants once roamed the Philippines. A Stegodon was the first large fossil mammal to be scientifically reported in the country. It was found in 1860, and was thought to have weighed about 400 kg, making it a dwarf stegodon. Stegodons had longer tusks than the elephants of today, and they were so close together that the trunk had to lean to one side of both of them! So far, 4 Philippine Stegadon species have been identified. Read more from the National Museum of the Philippines Facebook page search for Stegodon mindanensis, with text by Jiles Arvin A. Vergara. Artprint: https://society6.com/product/philippine-stegodon-on-undas-or-dia-de-los-muertos_print