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Just back from Brazil, couldn't wait to see the photos on a large screen !
Starting with the most beautiful passerine of the trip, the critically endangered and highly localised endemic, the Araripe Manakin. It was dicovered as recently as 1995 and described in 1998. Till then, nobody had really bothered to really look him up in the very tiny territory he occupies (the Chapada do Araripe, which is 50 square kms, as his song is incredibly similar to the Helmeted Manakin who can be found "easily" in the Amazon basin, a few thousand miles away. Except that.... the Helmeted Manakin is entirely black with a red crown, not like this little beauty. The North-Eastern region of Brazil is known to hold a number species and sub-species of Amazon birds, separated from that region by a great distance, due to the formation of the Cerrado in the Pliocene or Pleistocene. However, scientists are struggling to explain whether the Araripe Manakin, who is now only the second member of the Antilophia genus (the other one being the Helmeted Manakin) evolved from the Helmeted manakin to become another species, and if so, why this is such a rare evolution. In essence, the issue here is, if I have understood correctly, that a species morphs into a new species mostly by changing songs and not necessarily its appearance to such an extent. I hope the above makes sense, as I am not a biologist. Best, Ugolino Working on a personal website.... Comments and advice welcome.
Visit at http://ugolino.zenfolio.com/ |
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by Karl Egressy
on Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:52 am
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Posts: 39626
Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada Member #:00988 |
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by Peter Ireland
on Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:46 am
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by WDCarrier
on Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:01 am
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by Debapratim Saha
on Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:08 pm
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Joined: 31 Jul 2011 Location: Siliguri,India |
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by E.J. Peiker
on Tue Aug 29, 2017 6:15 pm
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Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Location: Arizona Member #:00002 |
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6 posts | | Page 1 of 1 |