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Baltic J. Coleopterol. 23(1) 2023
https://doi.org/10.59893/bjc.23(1).009 ISSN 1407 – 8619
85
New species of the genus Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972
(Coleoptera: Cerambycinae: Phoracanthini) from Mt.
Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in Davao Oriental, Philippines
Milton Norman D. Medina, Roy G. Ponce, Jhonnel P. Villegas
Medina M.N.D., Ponce R.G. Villegas Jh.P. 2023. New species of the genus
Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Cerambycinae: Phoracanthini) from
Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
Davao Oriental, Philippines. Baltic J. Coleopterol., 23(1): 85 - 91.
This paper describes Paraskeletodes hamiguitanensis sp. nov., the second species of
the genus Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Cerambycinae:
Phoracanthini) in the world. This rare species was found in Mt. Hamiguitan Range
Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Province of
Davao Oriental, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Thediscovery of this species
emphasizes the need to strengthen and expand wildlife conservation efforts in Davao
Oriental, Philippines.
Key words: Conservation, Mt. Hamiguitan, New Species, Phoracanthini
Milton Norman D. Medina. Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences and
URESCOM, Tropical Genomics Laboratory, Davao Oriental State University,
Guang-guang, City of Mati, Davao Oriental, 8200 Philippines;
Entomology Section, National Museum of Natural History, Philippines, Ermita, Ma-
nila, Philippines.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6858-8048
Roy G. Ponce.
Center for Futures Thinking and Regenerative Development,
Davao Oriental State University, Guang-guang, City of Mati, Davao Oriental, 8200
Philippines.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-3273
Jhonnel P. Villegas.
Faculty of Teacher Education, Davao Oriental State University,
Guang-guang, City of Mati, Davao Oriental, 8200 Philippines.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6387-2381
*Corresponding author:miltonnormanmedina@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
(MHRWS) is the only World Heritage Site
in Mindanao Island, Philippines, inscribed
by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in 2014. It is characterized by
Medina M.N.D., Ponce R.G. Villegas Jh.P.
86
rich species diversity and high endemism
due to its unique biogeographical condition
(Medina et al., 2020; Mendoza et al.,
2020).The mountain’s ultramafic soil and
vast pygmy field demonstrate an
outstanding universal value, serving as a
biological frontier within the Eastern
Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor (EMBC).
However, despite different layers of pro-
tection at the domestic and international
levels, threats to wildlife remain a serious
concern in the country. Habitat degrada-
tionand poaching continue to threaten wild
flora and fauna (Brooks et al., 2002;
Fischer, 2021). Threats affecting the Cole-
optera fauna are even more prevalent with
limited efforts to document and conserve
them (Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, 2019; Bohm et al.,
2022). Protected landscapes are vital to
providing safe ecozones for threatened
species.
In an effort to mainstream MHRWS as a
conservation and tourism site, the Provin-
cial Government of Davao Oriental led a
scientific expedition with the aim of
updating the contents of the Mt. Hami-
guitan Natural Science Museum. A research
team from the Davao Oriental State
University (DOrSU) was commissioned to
document charismatic and unique species to
be showcased in the museum. On June 10,
2023, the authors collected the type speci-
men as it was attracted to a light source in
Camping Site No. 3, Municipality of San
Isidro.
The Cerambycidae fauna in the Philippines
is still greatly understudied (Barševskis et
al., 2020; Barševskis & Medina, 2021;
Barševskis et al., 2022a, b; Medina et al.,
2020, 2021a,b, 2022, 2023) particularly
those taxa that are rarely collected in the
field. Hence, it is expected that when more
field expeditions are conducted, more
species will be introduced as new to science
for Philippine fauna. Paraskeletodes
Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Ceram-
bycinae: Phoracanthini) is a genus of
longhorn beetles, represented by only two
species in the world. The first species, Par-
askeletodes gracilis Aurivillius, 1927, was
described from Sulawesi and had not been
rediscovered on the island since its intro-
duction to science (Aurivillus, 1927; Vives,
2009). It is distributed in both Sulawesi and
the Philippines. This paper describes the
second species of the genus Paraskeletodes
Aurivillius 1972, representing another
similar Cerambycid fauna between the two
archipelagos. The rarity of this species is
another reason to strengthen conservation
efforts in MHRWS.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Morphological characters were observed
under Leica MZ 12.5 stereomicroscope.
Habitus images were taken using Canon
EOS 6D digital camera equipped with an
MP-E 65mm macro lens mounted in Stack-
Shot macro rail automated with Helicon
Remote version 4.3.0.w. All images were
stacked using Helicon Focus version 8.1.1
and processed using a licensed Photoshop
CS6 Portable software version.
Measurements of the various body parts are
as follows: LB = length of body from an-
tennal support to apices of clothed elytra;
WH = maximum width across head from
the outer margin of a gena to that of anoth-
er; LG = length of gena from upper margin
to lower margin; LL = length of lower eye
lobe from upper margin to lower margin;
WL = maximum width across lower eye
lobe; LP = length of pronotum from base to
apex along midline; WP = maximum width
across pronotum; LE = length of elytra
from level of basal margins to apices of
clothed elytra; WEH = width of elytra
at humeri; / separates different lines on a
New species of the genus Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Cerambycinae: Phoracanthini) from …
87
label; // separates different labels. All
measurements are given in millimeters.
Comparative material and specimens used
in this study are deposited in the follow-
ingcollections:
EVC Stan Cabigas Collection, Cebu
City Philippines.
DOrSU Davao Oriental State University
Beetle Collections.
PNM Philippine National Museum, Er-
mita, Manila, 1000 Philippines.
TAXONOMY
Paraskeletodes hamiguitanensissp. nov.
Fig. 1
Figure 1. Habitus of Paraskeletodes hamiguitanensis sp. nov.: A. Dorsal aspect, B. Ventral
aspect, C. Lateral aspect, D. Frons.
Medina M.N.D., Ponce R.G. Villegas Jh.P.
88
HOLOTYPE female: PHILIPPINES –
Mindanao, Davao Oriental / San Isidro, Mt.
Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary//1-
5.vii.2023, 1400 masl, I.Apiag leg. / DOr-
SU, printed on red card. Type specimen
will be deposited at the Philippine National
Museum (PNM). PARATYPE female:
PHILIPPINES – Mindanao, Davao Oriental
/ Governor Generoso / Cabuaya //
23.viii.2023, 1000 masl, K.Sitjar leg. /
DOrSU, printed on red card.
Comparative material examined. Paraskele-
todes gracilis Aurivillius, 1927, holotype
male, NRM, Lompa Battau, South Sulawe-
si, Indonesia. Paraskeletodes gracilis Au-
rivillius, 1927, male, Gingoog City,
Misamis Oriental, EVC.
Description. Dimensions: LB: 17.0 mm.
WH: 2.5 mm. LL: 0.5 mm. WL: 1.0 mm.
LP: 3.0 mm. WP: 3.0 mm. LE: 12.5 mm.
WEH: 4.0 mm.
Adult female. Teguments in the Head,
pronotum, metasternum dark brown; elytra,
legs, and antennae light brown.
Head dorsally as long as wide; frons and
epicranium covered with goldish recumbent
pubescence; vertex relatively wide and
deep; frons depressed. Eyes matt black,
prominent, lower lobes twice wider than
long.
Antennae light brown, twice longer than
elytra; scape robust, light yellowish, coarse-
ly punctate, covered with long goldish se-
tae. Pedicle short. Antennomere III shorter
than IV; Antennomeres III to V with apical
spine; Antennomeres III to VII lined with
goldish setae, less prominent on the upper
side and more pronounced in the underside
and each apex; less prominent and finer
goldish setaeonboth sides of antennomeres
VIII to XI.
Prothorax. Pronotum, dark brown at each
side, lighter towards the middle; as long as
wide, highly punctate, covered with very
fine goldish recumbent pubescence, with
five discal bulges: one at the center, two at
apical third, and another two near the base;
with a prominent spine at each lateral side.
Propleuron highly punctate, fully covered
with fine recumbent goldish pubescence.
Prosternum punctate, densely covered with
recumbent goldish pubescence; goldish
setae lined the apex; depressed at the mid-
dle, with microsculptures near apical third.
Elytra. Elyra three times longer than wide;
light brown, margins dark brown, densely
covered with very fine recumbent goldish
pubescence; highly punctate from the base
up to apical third, very fine punctations
from the apical towards the apex. Elytral
base flat, humeri smooth, disc flat. Elytra is
composed of three bands of black macula-
tion when viewed dorsally, all connected
laterally. One oblong band at the base, cov-
ering half of the elytra base up to elytral
suture. Second band at the middle with
small base and elongated at the middle, but
not reaching elytral suture. Third band at
apical third with broad base tapering to-
wards apical suture. Apex of elytra is
somewhat lanceolate with a pointed apical
suture (Figure 1A).
Legs. Trochanters, Profemura, mesofemora,
and metafemora two-toned, light yellow
translucent with black tegument from the
middle reaching near each apex. Procoxa
and mesocoxa light brown, raised, meta-
coxa not raised. Tibia and tarsi light brown,
translucent, densely covered with semi-
erect goldish setae. Claw simple, light
brown.
Mesosternum pentagonal, densely covered
with very fine recumbent whitish pubes-
cence.
Mesepimeron, mesepisternum, metepister-
num, and metasternum bark brown, weakly
punctate, densely covered with very fine
New species of the genus Paraskeletodes Aurivillius 1972 (Coleoptera: Cerambycinae: Phoracanthini) from …
89
recumbent goldish pubescence. Abdominal
ventrites I-IV light brown, almost translu-
cent, densely covered with very fine re-
cumbent goldish pubescence, with few
erect goldish setae scattered throughout.
Ventrites I-III much broader than ventrites
IV and V. Ventrite V little darker, densely
covered with semi-erect goldish pubes-
cence, margin lined with erect goldish se-
tae. Each ventrite is connected with a flat
translucent inter-ventrite margin.
Genitalia. Genital pocket to ovipositor =
3mm. Ovipositor slender, twice longer
asthe genital pocket. Eight abdominal seg-
ments the same length as ovipositor. Spicu-
lum gastrale long, straight, slender, longer
than genital pocket and ovipositor com-
bined.
Adult male. Unknown.
Differential diagnosis. Paraskeletodes
hamiguitanensis sp. nov. is unique com-
pared to P. gracilis in terms of the follow-
ing: the presence of lateral spines in the
pronotum (absent in P. gracilis); the pres-
ence of five discal bulges at the pronotum
(almost smooth in P. gracilis); pronounced
black tegument at the forelegs (almost in-
visible in P. gracilis); middle of elytra with
more elongate elytral maculation (shorter in
P. gracilis).
Etymology. This species is named after its
type locality, the Mt. Hamiguitan Range
Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Her-
itage Site in Mindanao Island, Philippines.
The specific epithet “hamiguitanensis” is a
toponym to recognize the bio-ecological
significance of the said mountain range.
Distribution. Philippines: Mindanao (Da-
vao Oriental: Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wild-
life Sanctuary, San Isidro).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Mr. Stan Cabigas for the compar-
ative material; Dr. Mattias Forshage for the
warm assistance during the first author’s
visit at Naturhistorika Riksmuseet Stock-
holm Sweden; Governor Corazon N.
Malanyaon for supporting the field surveys
leading to the discovery of the new species;
Ms. Amy G. Ponce, Mr. Jan Rey R. Ilajas,
and Ms. Berryl Mae de Erio for the assis-
tance during fieldwork; Mr. Ildefonso T.
Apiag, Jr. for collecting the specimen; To
Kianu Sitjar for the paratype material from
Cabuaya, Davao Oriental; To our good
friendsFrancesco Vitali (National Museum
of Natural History, Grand-Duchy of Lux-
embourg), and Eduard Vives (Terrasa, Bar-
celona, Spain) for the valuable comments
and suggestions.To the anonymous review-
ers for the comments and suggestions.
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Received: 20.06.2023.
Accepted: 30.11.2023.
