Poço das Antas Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Poço das Antas) is a biological reserve located in

Rio de Janeiro State Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The reserve, which covers in the Atlantic Forest biome, was created on 11 March 1974. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...

. The reserve is in the municipality of

Silva Jardim Silva Jardim () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 21,774 (2020) and its area is 938 km². Conservation The municipality contains the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, a strictly prote ...

, Rio de Janeiro. The terrain is relatively flat, with elevations from . Average annual rainfall is . Temperatures range from with an average of . The São João River defines the boundary of the reserve, which is laced with small springs, channels and streams.

Environment

The vegetation includes dense lowland rainforest, some flooded and some not. Some areas have suffered deforestation. Over 365 plant species have been recorded, of which 12 are on the IUCN list of endangered species. The reserve is home to 77 known species of

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

. Currently, the mammal population is threatened due to many reasons such as wildfires and poaching. The reserve is famous for its

golden lion tamarin The golden lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus rosalia'', pt, mico-leão-dourado , ), also known as the golden marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion t ...

s (''Leontopithecus rosalia''), which represent most part of the few remaining wild golden lion tamarins in the world. There is estimated to be 1000 tamarins in the reserve and surrounding areas. Currently the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Project (GLTCP) is attempting to save the golden lion tamarins from extinction. Migratory bird species include

swallow-tailed kite The swallow-tailed kite (''Elanoides forficatus'') is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus ''Elanoides''. Most North and Central American b ...

(Elanoides forficatus),

plumbeous kite The plumbeous kite (''Ictinia plumbea'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it ...

(Ictinia plumbea), blue ground dove (Claravis pretiosa),

dark-billed cuckoo The dark-billed cuckoo (''Coccyzus melacoryphus'') is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife Intern ...

(Coccyzus melacoryphus), white-collared swift (Streptoprocne zonaris), Sick's swift (Chaetura meridionalis),

black jacobin The black jacobin (''Florisuga fusca'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Taxonomy and systematics The black jacobin was traditionally placed in the monotypic ...

(Florisuga fusca), black-throated mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis), white-rumped monjita (Xolmis velatus), yellow-browed tyrant (Satrapa icterophrys), rusty-margined flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis), streaked flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus), piratic flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius),

fork-tailed flycatcher The fork-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus savana'') is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for their distinguishingly long, forked tail, fork-tailed flycatchers are ...

(Tyrannus savana),

white-winged becard The white-winged becard (''Pachyramphus polychopterus'') is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae,Articlewww.ib.usp ...

(Pachyramphus polychopterus),

red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. ...

(Vireo olivaceus), lined seedeater (Sporophila lineola) and sooty grassquit (Tiaris fuliginosus).

Conservation

The Biological Reserve is a "strict nature reserve" under

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is par ...

Ia. The purpose is to fully preserve the biota and other natural attributes without direct human interference. As well as protecting the coastal forest ecosystem and remaining native fauna and preserving endangered indigenous species, the reserve has the function of creating laboratories to create and restock examples of flora and fauna. Protected species include the

white-necked hawk The white-necked hawk (''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claram ...

(Buteogallus lacernulatus), maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus),

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a w ...

(Chrysocyon brachyurus), purple-winged ground dove (Claravis geoffroyi),

(Leontopithecus rosalia), the catfish Microcambeva barbata, the butterflies

Mimoides lysithous ''Mimoides lysithous '' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in the Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the ...

and Parides ascanius, and

Salvadori's antwren Salvadori's antwren (''Myrmotherula minor'') is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruct ...

(Myrmotherula minor).

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poco das Antas Biological Reserve Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas established in 1974 1974 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest