“I’m Brazilian and I never give up.” The popular motto that represents resilience can also describe the discovery of a new species of inhambu, the Tinamus Resonancescarried out at the end of 2024 by Brazilian researchers – they had been looking for the animal since 2021. The encounter with the bird similar to the extinct dodo took place in the Serra do Divisor, an Amazonian region on the border between Acre and Peru.
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The discovery led by ornithologists Fernando Igor de Godoy and Ricardo Plácido analyzed three specimens of the animal and was described in the scientific journal Zootaxa last Tuesday (12/02).
It all started when scientists recorded the song of an unidentified bird in 2021 in the Amazon region. The sound caught our attention because it was different, echoing and oscillating in the middle of the forest.
After years of unsuccessful research, biologist Luis Morais, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), decided at the end of 2024 to adopt another strategy: he played the melody recorded in the forest with the aim of attracting the owners of the voice, which worked. Thus, it was possible to photograph and identify them.
Due to the characteristic song that resonated with each song, the species was named Tinamus Resonances and its popular name became sururina-da-serra due to its residence in Serra do Divisor.
Friendly and dodo-like: the characteristics of the new bird
The animal is a small bird with color tones that differ throughout the body: the head is generally blacker with cinnamon brown details that go down to the belly, while the back has the same color, but more towards matte tones (see the image below).
The image shows the details of the mountain bird
Having cameras to record the animal was the researchers’ biggest concern, as many animals flee from humans or strange objects. However, the bird surprised, approaching the instruments without any fear.
Although their appearance is not very similar, the friendly behavior of these birds is very similar to that of the extinct dodos, former residents of the Mauritius Islands in the Indian Ocean. It was precisely because they were extremely docile that the ancient animals were decimated with the arrival of the Portuguese and Dutch in the 1500s, falling prey to humans and the animals they brought with them.
Another characteristic close to the dodos is the habitat: while the extinct birds lived in a remote spot in the middle of the ocean, the mountain sururina lives in the tranquility of the Serra do Divisor, a mountainous region known as the “island in the sky” and which is home to an isolated and unique ecosystem at the top.
Animal situation
According to the researchers, there are only an estimated two thousand specimens in the wild – in other words, the mountain sururine is an extremely vulnerable animal. Among the greatest dangers linked to its disappearance are climate change and the relaxation of animal protection measures in the national park where the Serra do Divisor is located. Further research should provide more details on the species and its situation.
“The discovery of T. resonant highlights the biological uniqueness of the Serra do Divisor, reinforces its status as a center of mountain endemism and highlights the critical importance of maintaining its long-term conservation,” write the authors of the article.
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