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Palawan Sun Skink

    Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink     The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi...

Silky Owl Butterfly

Silky Owl butterfly Taenaris horsfieldii plateni photo by Jojo De Peralta in Palawan
 Silky Owl Butterfly


    The Silky Owl butterfly in Palawan (Taenaris horsfieldii plateni) is an uncommon forest-dwelling butterfly well known due to the spots on its hind wings similar to a pair of staring eyes. The yellow “eyes” with central black, bluish, and white pupil areas visible when resting are considered part of their defensive colour patterns that are supposed to warn or scare predators. Despite being large (80 mm) compared to most shaded forest-dwelling butterflies in Palawan, this species is surprisingly hard to find. They are secretive and often frequent in the well-shaded understory of the dense forest.

Silky Owl butterfly Taenaris horsfieldii plateni photo by Jojo De Peralta in Palawan
 Silky Owl Butterfly


    The Silky Owl in the Philippines occurs only in Palawan. It inhabits dense forests at low to medium elevations and seems to be absent in ultramafic forests on mountain ridges and peaks. They are very adept at weaving through the undergrowth when flying in dense vegetation but are mostly reluctant to fly great distances. This butterfly species distribution in the province is wide, but more copious in population in the southern and central parts of Palawan mainland.
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