[Source: Kwata and Institut Pasteur de la Guyane]
A new species of tapir was discovered in the Brazilian Amazon: Tapirus kabomani represents the first species of Perissodactyla described in the last 100 years.
This work was carried out by a team of scientists working for the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and two organizations in French Guiana: a French Guiana association for the study and protection of nature Kwata and the Institut Pasteur de la Guyane. The results were published on December 16th, 2013 in Journal of Mammalogy, an international scientific magazine.
This study was supported by the CEBA (Center for the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia), which has one of its members involved in the team of scientists, Benoit de Thoisy (Institut Pasteur / Kwata).
Picture by photo trapping on the new species Tapirus kabomani © Samuel Nienow
The study of this new species of tapir started ten years ago, after the discovery of a skull. After detailed morphological and genetic analyzes of other skulls and various animal tissues, the scientists were able to conclude this was a new species of tapir, different from the four species known so far, including two in South America, one in Central America and one in Asia.
A major point in this discovery was taking into account the knowledge of traditional local communities. Tapirus kabomani is indeed the second largest land mammal in South America but had gone unnoticed for a long time in the eyes of the scientific community. Despite the similarities with the common Brazilian tapir, Amerindian people have always differentiated the two species; the integration of the Indian term Kabomani in the scientific name refers to this knowledge.
After the scientific description of the species, the next step is to determine the conservation status of the population of Tapirus kabomani. It is probably threatened, like Tapirus terrestris, the most common species in Brazil, already classified as vulnerable on the Red List of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources).
Drawing of a male Tapirus kabomani © Grazielle Braga
References of the publication:
A new species of tapir from the Amazon
Mario A. Cozzuol, Camila L. Clozato, Elizete C. Holanda, Flávio H.G. Rodrigues, Samuel Nienow, Benoit de Thoisy, Rodrigo A.F. Redondo, Fabrício R. Santos
Journal of Mammalogy, of the American Society of Mammalogists. 2013.
For more information:
- Kwata association:
http://www.kwata.net
- Website of the federal University of Minas Gerais:
https://www.ufmg.br/online/arquivos/031397.shtml
- BioOne, the online editing platform for scientific content:
http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-169.1
