New dwarf buffalo discovered by chance in the Philippines

October 17, 2006

First new fossil mammal from the Philippines in 50 years

CHICAGO-Almost 50 years ago, Michael Armas, a mining engineer from the central Philippines, discovered some fossils in a tunnel he was excavating while exploring for phosphate. Forty years later, Dr. Hamilcar Intengan, a friend of his who now lives in Chicago, recognized the importance of the bones and donated them to The Field Museum.

If not for the attention and foresight of these two individuals, science might never have documented what has turned out to be an extremely unusual species of dwarf water buffalo, now extinct.

The new species, described in the October issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, has been named Bubalus cebuensis (BOO-buh-luhs seh-boo-EN-sis) after the Philippine island of Cebu, where it was found. Its most distinctive feature is its small size. While large domestic water buffalo stand six feet at the shoulder and can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, B. cebuensis would have stood only two-and-one-half feet and weighed about 350 pounds.

B. cebuensis, which evolved from a large-sized continental ancestor to dwarf size in the oceanic Philippines, is the first well-supported example of "island dwarfing" among cattle and their relatives.

"Natural selection can produce dramatic body-size changes. On islands where there is limited food and a small population, large mammals often evolve to much smaller size," said Darin Croft, lead author of the study and a professor of anatomy at Case Western Reserve University.

Significant finding on several levels

Water buffalo are members of the cattle family and are placed in the genus Bubalus, which includes four living species. Two species, Bubalus bubalis and B. mindorensis are closely related, and the new fossil species appears to be a close relative of this pair.

B. bubalis is the well-known domestic water buffalo. B. mindorensis, popularly known as a tamaraw, is also a dwarf, although at about three feet tall at the shoulder and 500 pounds it is considerably larger than the newly discovered species. The highly endangered tamaraw lives only on the Philippine island of Mindoro. Two poorly known species of the genus Bubalus from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, known as anoas, are more distantly related.

The new species, B. cebuensis, teaches scientists a great deal about the entire buffalo genus. Its discovery on Cebu-in combination with the occurrence of the rare tamaraw on Mindoro and a report of fossil teeth potentially referable to Bubalus on Luzon-indicates that this genus might have once lived throughout the Philippines, most of which is an oceanic archipelago, never connected to any continental land mass.

"Documenting past mammal diversity in the Philippines, an area of extremely high conservation priority, is vital for understanding the evolutionary development of the modern Philippine flora and fauna and how to preserve it," said Larry Heaney, a co-author of the study and curator of mammals at The Field Museum. "The concentration of unique mammal species there is among the very highest in the world, but so is the number of threatened species."

B. cebuensis also can help scientists to better understand "island dwarfing," whereby some large mammals confined to an island shrink in response to evolutionary factors. This may occur due to a lack of predators (the animal no longer needs to be large to avoid being eaten) and/or limited food (smaller animals require less food).

The research could provide insights into debates on the evolution of small-bodied species elsewhere in the tropics such as the proposed new hominid, Homo floresiensis, found on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003. "Whether or not Homo floresiensis ultimately is shown to be a new dwarf hominid species, discovery of this new fossil water buffalo provides additional evidence that dwarf species can evolve quickly in isolation," said John Flynn, a co-author of the study, and chairman and Frick Curator in the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. "Other fossil dwarf mammal species likely remain to be discovered in the poorly explored island systems of tropical Southeast Asia."

The discovery of B. cebuensis supports the hypothesis that the tamaraw evolved to a small size due to its island habitat. Further, the fact that B. cebuensis lived on a smaller island than the tamaraw and evolved into a smaller size than the tamaraw supports the hypothesis that the size of an island plays a role in island dwarfing: the smaller the island, the smaller the dwarf.

The new discovery also shows that dwarfing can affect different parts of the body differently. For example, B. cebuensis had relatively large teeth, which is typical of island dwarfs, but also relatively large feet, which are usually reduced in dwarfing.

Scientists were able to determine the size and features of the new species based on a partial skeleton consisting of two teeth, two vertebrae, two upper arm bones, a foot bone, and two hoof bones. The fossil could not be dated with certainty, but the authors estimate that it probably lived during the Pleistocene ("Ice Age"), probably between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, but it is possible that it is younger.

The discovery demonstrates that there are fossils to be found in the Philippines, which rarely produces fossils due to its hot, wet conditions, which are not conducive to fossil preservation. Only a few fossils of elephants, rhinos, pig, and deer have been found previously, according to Dr. Angel Bautista, a co-author of the study and curator of anthropology at the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. "Finding this new species is a great event in the Philippines," he said. "We have wonderful living biodiversity, but we have known very little about our extinct species from long ago. Finding this new fossil species will spur us to new efforts to document the prehistory of our island nation."

The Philippines include more than 7,000 islands. During the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago, much of the water in the oceans was frozen in glaciers, resulting in much lower sea levels-about 400 feet lower. Because of this, some groups of current islands within the Philippines became connected by land. Some of the mammals, including water buffalo, probably migrated to the Philippines during these periods by swimming short distances between islands. Once the glaciers melted and sea levels rose, these mammals became isolated on their respective islands. Over the years, they evolved into the unique species found there today.

According to Heaney, about 200 native mammal species currently live in the Philippines, and nearly two-thirds of them are endemic (only found there). Only Madagascar has a higher percentage of endemic mammals.

"This discovery highlights the importance of making fossils available for scientific study," Croft said. "If not for the generosity of Mr. Armas and Dr. Intengan, we probably never would have known about this extinct species."

Field Museum

---

---

	Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch by Dan O'Brien (Author) For twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half. Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines...
	Australian Geographic Magazine #82. April - Jun 2006. Strzelecki Track, Yarra River, Jeff Carter, Backyard Chooks, Dwarf Minke Whales, Buffalo, Arctic Trek by Australian Geographic (Author)
	The Time of the Buffalo by Tom McHugh (Author) The magnificent beast that once roamed from Alaska to the Carolinas "in numbers numberless" is splendidly memorialized in The Time of the Buffalo, which begins with its genesis in the Ice Age, traces its evolution and natural history, observes its patterns of behavior, and records its life-and-death relationship with three cultures of man. Here are the ways in which the buffalo crucially affected (and was affected by) the hunters of the Pleistocene epoch and, in our era, the life of the Plains Indians and nineteenth-century frontiersmen. Here is the creature itself—seen as an integral part of a rich ecological and cultural tapestry.Combining extensive field research on live herds with the study of historical records, Tom McHugh offers a rare closeup of the buffalo's habits and life...
	Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands by Alexandra van der Geer (Author), George Lyras (Author), John de Vos (Author), Michael Dermitzakis (Author) Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas.  Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors.This timely and innovative book is the first to offer a much-needed synthesis of recent advances in the exciting field of the evolution and extinction of fossil insular placental mammals. It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene.The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species....
	Dwarf World by Flying Buffalo Inc This book is a gamemaster adventure intended for Tunnels & Trolls roleplaying game. It's not really a story - it is a description of a setting that a gamemaster can use to lead a group of friends through an adventure. It is designed with the 7.5 rules in mind, but can be used with any version of the rules. (Or actually, with any fantasy role playing system). This adventure is for Level 1 to Level 10 characters, and there probably should be at least one dwarf in the party. Although there is wealth and knowledge to be won in this scenario, the real challenge will be to get your characters back out alive. Good luck with that!
	Twilight of the Mammoths:: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America (Organisms and Environments) by Paul S. Martin (Author), Harry W. Greene (Foreword) As recently as 11,000 years ago--"near time" to geologists--mammoths, mastodons, gomphotheres, ground sloths, giant armadillos, native camels and horses, the dire wolf, and many other large mammals roamed North America. In what has become one of science's greatest riddles, these large animals vanished in North and South America around the time humans arrived at the end of the last great ice age. Part paleontological adventure and part memoir, Twilight of the Mammoths presents in detail internationally renowned paleoecologist Paul Martin's widely discussed and debated "overkill" hypothesis to explain these mysterious megafauna extinctions. Taking us from Rampart Cave in the Grand Canyon, where he finds himself "chest deep in sloth dung," to other important fossil sites in Arizona and...
	Death in the Dark Continent by Peter H. Capstick (Author) Critically acclaimed as a master of adventure writing for Death in the Long Grass and Death in the Silent Places, former professional hunter Peter Capstick takes us back to Africa to encounter the world's most dangerous big-game animals. After consulting African game experts and recalling his own experiences and those of his colleagues, Capstick has written chilling, authoritative accounts of hunting the five most dangerous killers on the African continent-- lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo and rhinoceros. The classic big-game animals are unmatched as a test of a hunter's skill and courage. With a command of exciting prose, Capstick brings us along on the chase. The warning snarl of a crouching lion, the swish of grass that reveals a leopard, the enraged scream of a wounded...
	Asian Children's Favorite Stories: A Treasury of Folktales from China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia by David Conger (Author), Yee (Author), Marian Davies Toth (Author), Kay Lyons (Author), Patrick Yee (Illustrator) For thousands of years, parents around the world have been telling their children stories; at bedtime, over the dinner table, and around the fire. Each country has its own set of fascinating tales, which are especially enjoyable for children to discover. Asian Children's Favorite Stories is a marvelous collection of 13 beautifully told folktales from eight major countries in Asia-China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Open the pages of this fascinating storybook to introduce your child to the wonders of Asia-and the joy of finding new favorites to read over and over again.
	Safari: The Last Adventure by Peter H. Capstick (Author) Peter Capstick's earliest books have firmly established him as the modern-day master of African adventure writing. Now, for all his readers who want to put their taste for adventure into practice, Capstick has written the first modern authoritative, comprehensive guide to African safari. Drawing on his years of experience as a professional hunter, Capstick explains everything a bwana needs to know: how to select and book a safari; where and when to go; fees and licenses; the guns, ammo, and personal equipment needed. Chapters on each of the Big Five (lion, Cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, and rhino-- the trophies most hunters want to take) describe the techniques, thrills, and dangers of hunting these clever and cunning animals. The other memorable delights of safari, like camp life, bird...
	East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume 3, Part D: Bovids by Jonathan Kingdon (Author) Kingdon's remarkable seven-volume masterwork on East African mammals concludes with two volumes on the bovids, placing them in a broad comparative, ecological, and evolutionary context. Volume IIIC covers cattle, water buffalo, kudus, elands, dwarf antelopes, duikers, reedbucks, and waterbucks; IIID covers gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, oryxes, sheep, and goats. In addition to the stunning, lifelike drawings that are an integral part of the text, the volumes include a reappraisal of bovid taxonomy and original analyses of the form and function of body shape and size, horn shape, coat pattern, and tooth structure.