Bioacústica das populações setentrionais de Scytalopus speluncae (Ménétriès, 1835) e implicações taxonômicas (Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae)

Abstract

The Rhinocryptidae family has been a real challenge for taxonomists, especially the genus Scytalopus. Much because their species are very similar, both in morphology and song, and because they inhabit dense forests in places of high altitude and difficult to access, in most cases. Since the middle of the last decade, works related to Scytalopus speluncae have been demonstrating that the species may represent a complex of species that have not yet been described, as populations from different locations present morphological, vocal and genetic differences. This work analyzed the voice of five populations of S. speluncae from the South and Southeast of Brazil. The recordings used were obtained through citizen science sites such as Xeno-Canto and WikiAves. Four populations belong to the northern populations and one population belongs to the southern populations of the species. The song, alarm calls and contact calls were analyzed, which were compared through their parametric data, format and set of notes. It was found that the only southern population (Escarpa Devoniana/Planalto) has a different voice than the northern populations. Within the northern populations, the Serra dos Órgãos population was the most distinguished for having a song with notes that only have descending frequency modulation. The population of Serra do Caparaó also showed a certain difference in relation to other populations in the north, as it has a slower song. It was possible to conclude from the results obtained that the northern populations differ from the Escarpa Devoniana/Planalto, and possibly from the southern populations as a whole. The Serra dos Órgãos population can be considered a species because it has genetic and voice diagnosis. Individuals from Serra do Caparaó show signs of being a distinct species from S. speluncae, as they have a slower song, but it need to have their molecular diagnosis determined. More extensive work, involving morphological data and a greater variety of voices, can establish new and more consistent diagnoses for these populations, and thus possibly lead to new species being described for the Rhinocryptidae family.