THERE ARE ANIMALS IN THIS BUSH

Artigo

 

THERE ARE ANIMALS IN THIS BUSH

The fauna of Rola-Moça State Park is typical of the transition between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. As well as plants, there are species that inhabit fields, cerrados and forests. See some examples of the fauna found here in the Park.

Mammals

There are about 30 species of non-flying mammals, most of which are adapted to modified environments. Some species here are threatened with extinction, such as the puma (Puma concolor), the small wildcat (Leopardus tigrinus) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). There are two species of deer (Mazama americana and Mazama gouazoupira) considered endangered in Minas Gerais, due to illegal hunt. Another threatened species is the field fox (Lycalopex vetulus), endemic to the Cerrado and which prefers grasslands.

Birds

Among the approximately 170 species of birds in the Rola-Moça Mountains State Park, there are those that prefer rural environments, such as tanagers (Dacnys cayana, Tangara cyanoventris), sayaca tanagers (Thraupis sayaca, Tangara cayana); and those that need forest environments, such as the blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea).

In forests, vegetation structured in “layers” or “strata” creates different environments, providing conditions for species that prefer the canopies, others that inhabit the ground and even those who live at mid-height. Some birds that move in open areas use the forest as a place of shelter and nesting.

Reptiles and Amphibians

The park region has a high richness of amphibians, about 34 species. Some examples are the toads, Blacksmith Toad and the treefrogs Hyla minuta, Hyla circumdata, Scinax fuscovarius and Scinax longilineus. These species use flooded environments and forested areas and some tree frogs are indicators of good environmental quality.

Among the snakes, some examples are the pit viper Tropidodryas sp, the pit viper Sibynomorphus mikani, the water snake Liophis sp and the caiçaca Bothrops moojeni. Among the species of lizards, the lizard Tropidurus sp.

Insects

In the park, more than 130 species of bees have already been recorded. Some species, such as Xylocopa truxali, stand out as typical of rupestrian habitats. The European bee (Apis mellifera), is a non-native species that today inhabits the various Brazilian ecosystems, being already considered a naturalized species. Among beetles, around 60 species have been identified so far, most of them associated with forest habitats.