Discovery of the 20 million year old Sirenia fossil in Palawan

A short trailer for Puerto Princesa Underground River with the discovery of the 20 million year old Sirenia fossil.
THE BONES of an extinct sea cow species that lived about 20 million years ago have been discovered in a cave in the Philippines by a team of Italian scientists. Several ribs and spine parts of the aquatic mammal were found in February and March in limestone rock above the waters of an underground river on the island of Palawan, said University of Florence geologist Leonardo Piccini. "The fossil is in the rock, in the cave. We cannot remove it and we don’t want to extract it. We would like to wait [for] when the technology will allow us to study the fossil without extracting it," Mr. Piccini told AFP. Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium at the presidential palace where the find was announced, Mr. Piccini said it was a rare discovery in the region from the Miocene era -- 20 million years ago. "It’s the first remains of this kind of animal in the area, so it is important in reconstructing the habitat and the diffusions of this animal in the Miocene," he added. Initial comparisons with fossil specimens suggest it belongs to one of two extinct species of plant-eating sirenia, also known as sea cows, according to research by Federico Panti and Paolo Forti, a member of the Palawan expedition. They said the animal would have been about 180 centimeters long. Two sea cow species live to this day, the dugong of the Indo-Pacific region and manatees of the Atlantic basin. The paper said such fossil finds in the East had been limited to India along with some fragmentary finds in Madagascar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Indonesian island of Java. "The specimens [found] in the Palawan Island represent the first from the Philippines and the easternmost occurrence in the region," it added. It called on the government to protect the area of the find in the Puerto Princesa subterranean river, which is being heavily promoted as a major tourist destination. -- AFP http://www.bworld.com.ph/content.php?section=Nation&title=Extinct-sea-cow-fossil-found&id=32636

Palawan safest, no earthquake faults - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Palawan safest, no earthquake faults - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:50:00 01/16/2010

Filed Under: Earthquake


APART from the profusion of spectacular landscapes and seascapes that has made it the favorite of many travelers, it would seem that the paradise island of Palawan also offers the safest haven for those fearful of a Haiti-like tremor occurring in the country.

Compared to other parts of the Philippines, Palawan is “relatively stable” geologically, according to Mahar Lagmay, a professor of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS).

“There are hardly any earthquakes in Palawan and certainly none strong enough to cause major damage. The whole island is probably the most stable area of land in the country,” Lagmay said.

An expert on earthquake faults, Lagmay has constructed a map of earthquake epicenters which he plotted using information from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1929 to 2009.

Lagmay said there were hardly any active faults under the island compared to the rest of the country. (A fault or fault line is a fracture in the rock within the earth’s crust that is the causal location of most earthquakes.)

Continental, not oceanic, rock

While Palawan does have fault lines, these are “old” and experts are still debating whether these fault lines are active or not, Lagmay said.

For instance, there is an ongoing and heated debate on whether the Ulugan Bay fault near the famed Palawan Underground River is active, Lagmay said.

Lagmay believes Palawan is stable largely because the island was once part of continental Asia which separated around 100 million years ago and drifted toward the Philippines.

“The rock of the island is continental and different from other parts of the country, which is made of oceanic rock,” he said.

Hence, the crust of the island is thicker at 30 kilometers, compared to the oceanic rock’s 12 km, having derived from the Pacific seabed.

“The crust of the island is thicker and older and, therefore, not as prone to earthquakes,” said Lagmay.

No major faults

The island is also not bordered by any major trench or fault line, he said.

“The South China Sea area is more stable tectonically. Combined with the continental material, there is little chance for the development of active faults in Palawan,” he said.

Also, the movement of the ground in the South China Sea is not as fast as the eastern side of Luzon, which is moving toward the Asian mainland at the rate of 7 centimeters a year, and the eastern side of Mindanao, which is moving toward the Asian mainland at 10 cm a year.

“Because of the slow movement, there is no compression of forces in the island,” Lagmay said.

On the other hand, large parts of the Philippine archipelago are sandwiched between two trenches, the Manila Trench in the west and the Philippine Trench in the east.

“Movements in these trenches generate stress in the faults. That is why there are so many earthquakes in the mainland [Philippines],” he said.

“If you ask me where I would build a house in the country, I’d say Palawan,” he said.

The Exotic Tamilok

One of Palawan’s exotic delicacy is the Tamilok. Although commonly known as “woodworm”, it is actually a mollusk – a mangrove-tree-boring mollusk.

It is rich in protein, calcium and iodine and is said to be an aphrodisiac. Not nearly as awful as it looks, (long, slimy and grayish white) it tastes like a sweet, delicious raw oyster.

It is served raw after the insides are removed and cleaned and usually are served with dips – a choice of either vinegar or calamansi juice. Some, however, prefers the native coconut vinegar, locally called “sukang-tuba”, as this usually tastes better with tamilok than the commercial vinegars.

Gathering tamilok isn't all that easy. You have to chop your way through trunks and trunks of mangroves to get this delicacy. Embedded inside the trunk, you have to pull the tamilok (which grows up to several inches long) slowly and carefully. It actually has a pair of claws at one end of its body, which must be its only means of defense.

When in Palawan, you can try this exotic delicacy in Kinabuch Restobar in Puerto Princesa or when in Sabang (where the Underground River is) just ask the locals where to get some.

This is one thing that uniquely Palawan’s, or so I thought, until I made a “research” on the internet about it.

Tamilok –so I found out - is a delicacy not only in other provinces of the Philippines (Bohol, Agusan del Norte, and Panay Island provinces) but also in other country like Papau New Guinea. Further, this specie can be found any place in the world where mangrove trees thrive. In Australia, tamilok was actually considered as pest to mangroves.

I think the name “Tamilok” did not came from what some people believed to have a came from – “tammy look!”. As a native of the province, I know that the name had been there since the people able to speak and eat the thing. In Papau New Guinea they call it “tambelo”. So the word could have a malayan-indonesian origin (just a guess).

Tamilok, known scientifically as Bachtronophorus thoracites, is a bivalve mollusk that belongs to teredinidae family.

Born to be Wild: Palawan: The Last Frontier

Watch GMA7 TV's "Born to be Wild" feature about Palawan entitled Palawan, the Last Frontier



For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV


Born to be Wild takes you to the country's last nature frontier. Considered a haven of biodiversity and the environment's strong hold, Palawan Island is slowly threatened by various issues.

Romi Garduce and Doc Ferds Recio go on an adventure to discover what truly makes this island worthy of its title, "The Last Frontier." While many other parts of the country have denuded forests, exploited mineral reserves and grave degradation of the environment, Palawan boasts of lush mangroves teeming with wildlife and green forests home to hundreds of species, many of which can be found only in the island.

Romi explores Puerto Princesa's subterranean area and finds a truly awesome underground river and nature preserve which is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But what makes this geological wonder remarkable is that it serves as home to native wildlife, including a very playful endemic bird which has taken a liking to Romi!

Palawan's beauty lies not only in its geology and rich wildlife, but also in its pristine seas! Doc Ferds goes underwater to prove why Palawan's waters hold some of the most well-preserved marine ecosystems in the country. He takes a boat ride along the rich mangroves that make up Palawan's waters and marvels at how lush these fish sanctuaries really are.

But as Doc Ferds and Romi discover, Palawan also faces peril with the arrival of new environmental threats. Its rich sediments and minerals are the target of industrial progress. While some see Palawan as a source of energy and resource for the rising demand of the population, environmental groups caution that Palawan should remain untouched and unexploited. As the last remaining environment frontier, they believe that island must be preserved for future generations.

Nominees in the New 7 Wonders of Nature

Two of the most popular sites in Palawan have been consistently in the top 10 of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the Tubbataha Reef and the Undergorund River.

Other sites from the Philippines that made it to top 20 are the Chocolate Hills in Bohol and Mayon Volcano in the Bicol Region.

As of this writing, however, these places were down from their previous higher rankings.

- Tubbataha reef now at rank number 5, down from number 4.

- Chocolate Hills at number 6, down from 5.
- Underground river at number 8 from 6.

- Mayon Volcano eased down 3 notches to 12th place.

Support and vote for these great places! Truly nature's masterpieces.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. The underground river is reputed to be the world's longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water's edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.

The Tubbataha Reef

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea that belongs to the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park. The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. The atolls are separated by a deep channel 8 kilometers wide. Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.

Trailer of animated film "Urduja"

Here is the trailer of the animated film "Urduja" created by Palawan artists/animators.

Ka Luie Resto

They say that if you were not able to visit Ka Luie Resto in Palawan, your travel to the place is not complete.

Ka Luie Resto in Puerto Princesa is the most popular restaurant. Serving native/local resourced gourmet in a setting of a nipa hut (hut made from bamboo, woods and nipa leaves).

Meals are reasonable priced and service is good and the food is fabulous.

Must try is their "Special of the day", good for two (2) person, consist of 3 main dishes, 2 side dishes and a dessert.