The UPLB Museum of Natural History recently launched its new sets of exhibits and displays and re-opened refurbished areas as part of its 40th anniversary celebration from 26-30 September 2016. The new exhibits have been prepared by the museum’s artists and research and extension personnel also in time for October, considered as the “Museums and Galleries Month.”

A new species of cave-dwelling cockroach was recently described and named after Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, director of the UPLB Museum of Natural History. Nocticola gonzalezi is the newly-described troglobiotic or a true cave-dwelling cockroach in the Philippines. The species was discovered and described by Cristian C. Lucañas and Dr. Ireneo L. Lit, Jr. of the Museum’s Entomological Section.

This particular species has been collected in a cave in Polillo Island, Quezon where bat guano deposits abound. In their article published in the journal Subterranean Biology (doi: 10.3897/subtbiol.19.9804), Lucañas and Lit reported that the “species is unique because it is very small compared to other members of the genus Nocticola.”

In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, the UPLB Museum of Natural History launched its first Digital Photo Contest with the theme “Celebrating Philippine Natural Heritage”. The contest aims to feature the richness of Philippine biodiversity and give premium to these natural resources as a heritage to keep.

More than 50 entries that highlighted different forms of biodiversity and natural resources were received. The top 16 entries were pre-screened by Mr. Alastair Gibbons, MNH Volunteer from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

This year, the UPLB Museum of Natural History (MNH) celebrates 40years of preserving Philippine natural heritage. In its opening celebration on Sept. 26 at the CAS Auditorium, the MNH looked back on its origins and history with some of its founding members and important personalities.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, director of MNH, said that the MNH has come a long way from its humble beginnings. He also said that the Museum is continually undergoing changes to make the exhibits savvier.

The UPLB Museum of Natural History is very pleased to announce its Digital Photography Contest as part of its activities in its upcoming 40th Anniversary Week Celebrations from 26-30 September 2016. The MNH 40th Anniversary Photo Contest will have the theme “Celebrating Philippine Natural Heritage. Everyone currently in residence in the Philippines are eligible to join. For more details, continue reading on the contest guidelines.

A new ground orchid has been named after Museum staff Mary Ann Cajano by a group of researchers from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.

In a correspondence published in Phytotaxa (http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.266.1.9), Pieter B. Pelser, Kim John S. Doble, Peter O'Byrne, Paul Ormerod and Julie F. Barcelona announced their discovery of a new species, Gastrodia cajanoae Barcelona & Pelser, which their group has documented in 2012, 2015 and 2016.