The islands of the Philippines are considered to be one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, with a largely tropical forest ecosystem scattered across a large number of islands, leading to a very high rate of endemism (the occurrence of species with limited geographical ranges). However, much of this biodiversity is currently threatened by habitat loss as forests are converted to agricultural use. One of the groups most threatened by this are Beetles, a hyper-diverse Insect group which reach their most specious in tropical forests. Many Beetles found in the Philippines are unique to the islands, but often closely related to species found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
In a paper published in the Philippine Journal of Science in February 2024, Milton Norman Medina of the Tropical Genomics Laboratory and the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Davao Oriental State University, and the National Museum of Natural History Philippines, Amy Ponce, also of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Davao Oriental State University, and Jhonnel Villegas of the Faculty of Teacher Education and Center for Futures Thinking and Regenerative Development at Davao Oriental State University describe a new species of Longhorn Beetle from Davao Oriental Province on Mindanao Island, the Philippines.
The new species is placed in the genus Bityle, which contains six previously described species from Mindanao and Luzon islands in the Philippines and Sulawesi in Indonesia, and given the specific name oriens, meaning 'east', in reference to Davao Oriental Province. The species is described from one male and two female specimens collected in the Municipality of Boston, which is part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, a continuous stretch of forest ecosystems that serve as a biological sanctuary in the eastern part of Mindanao.
Females of Bityle oriens are slightly larger than males, reaching 9.5 mm as opposed to 8.0 mm, but otherwise externally similar. The Beetles are black in colour, with white hairs on the head, antennae, legs, and underside, while the upper part of the body is covered by black hairs, except three bands of white hairs on the elytra.
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