Bolivian coffee producers have filmed the Amazon weasel (Neogale africana) near their shade-grown plots as part of a citizen science monitoring program.
The Amazon weasel (Neogale africana): diagnostic sharp, dark-brown stripe down midline from throat to belly. Image credit: Bernal-Hoverud et al., doi: 10.15560/20.3.828.
Also known as the tropical weasel, the Amazon weasel is a poorly known species of weasel native to South America.
It was first identified from a museum specimen mislabeled as coming from Africa, hence the specific name africana.
The species inhabits Amazonian tropical environments with high annual temperatures and precipitation.
It can be found in the Amazon basin from north-central Brazil to Ecuador and south to central Peru and central Brazil. However, the full extent of its range is unknown.
“I was not sure what this animal was, but I knew it was not common,” said Eyner Quispe, the coffee producer who filmed the weasel near a natural spring on his farm.
“Biodiversity is an important part of our coffee story and so I filmed it as best I could. It’s a wonderful surprise to find out how important this observation is for Bolivia.”
The new observation in Bolivia represents the southernmost and highest elevation location (1,400 m above sea level) for the species on record and is only the 24th time the species has ever been registered anywhere.
The video footage is also the first time the Amazon weasel has been filmed anywhere.
Capturing this weasel for the first time is important because it provides scientists and the general public with the first live footage of this poorly understood carnivore.
“This is an amazing example of the value of citizen science with an incredibly valuable audiovisual record for a virtually mythical carnivore from the Amazon basin,” said Dr. Nuria Bernal, a researcher at the Texas Tech University.
“As more and more people register their own observations with smart phones and cameras, we are sure that this won’t be the only scientifically noteworthy contribution from citizen scientists in Bolivia.”
“As soon as I saw the video I knew it was a creature that we can only dream of observing,” said Robert Wallace of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
“WCS celebrates the huge importance of citizen science for biodiversity knowledge for which Bolivia is now a recognized world leader, and congratulates our local partners at APCERL for their continued conservation commitment and innovation.”
“Bolivia’s Eco de las Aves has been our coffee of choice for a while now, and how delightful to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and know that as consumers we are contributing to the conservation of the forests and biodiversity of the Amazon.”
The observation is reported in a paper in the journal Check List.
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N. Bernal-Hoverud et al. 2024. First record of Neogale africana (Desmarest, 1818), Amazon weasel (Carnivora, Mustelidae), in Bolivia. Check List 20 (3): 828-832; doi: 10.15560/20.3.828
This article is based on a press-release provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Source : Breaking Science News
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-07-17 20:57:00
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