Fauna and Flora
Updated: Jan 17, 2022
Editor's Note
This e-book shows a little of the natural resources that make up our beautiful Salinópolis.
Understanding how living beings survive and perpetuate their species is fundamental to harmony on a preserved and prosperous planet.
See what we at Solar are doing to contribute to a more sustainable planet: Eco-tourism tours, 100% solar energy generation, treatment and reuse of sewage water through E.T.E. (Sewage Treatment Plant) and transformation of organic waste into gas used in the kitchen.
I hope you enjoy this content and love nature even more.
Summary
1. Arapepó River
2. Red Mangrove
3. Siriuba Mangrove
4. White Mangrove
5. Button Mangrove
6. Cormorant
7. Woodpecker
8. Peregrine Falcon
9. Maçarico
10. Spoonbill
11. Fisherman Martin
12. Great Egret
13. Little White Heron
14. Tricolored Heron
15. Little Blue Heron
16. Mangrove Saracura
17. North Carcará Hawk
18. Seagull
19. Scarlet Ibis
20. Maguari
21. Japu
22. Cownose Stingray
23. Puffer Fish
24. Catfish
25. Tralhoto
26. Sardine
27. Crab
28. Mangrove Crab
29. Aratu
30. Red aratu
31. Tide Flame Crab
32. Hermit crab
33. Sea Snails
34. Vongli
35. Oyster
36. Barnacle
37. Turu
38. Iguana
39. Raccoon
40. Corral
41. Sulfurous Mud
Arapepó River
It starts in front of the city, between Maçarico beach and Ponta do Espadarte, passing under the Atalaia bridge and ending in the village of Cuiarana.
Its salt water by the Atlantic Ocean and is influenced by the Pará River from March to May, getting to be sweetened.
The name Arapepó, given by the Tupinambá Indians, means crown. With the influence of low tide, several sand crowns are formed along its entire length.
This river is the enabler of the great diversity of the fauna and flora of Salinópolis, which guarantees the livelihood of many families that make their living from tourism and fishing.
Red Mangrove
The tree's name is given because, when its bark is scraped, it presents a reddish color typical of the species.
The Indians used this paint to paint themselves on festive and war days.
Siriúba Mangrove
Due to its large and hollow trunk, the Indians used it to make a musical instrument called the curimbó.
Curimbó is used to beat the contagious rhythm of Pará, known as Carimbó.
White Mangrove
It mainly inhabits the interior of the mangroves, places further away from the coast.
Its flowers are whitish with different shades of green.
Its wood is somewhat greenish, in addition to dark brown, it is quite resistant and withstands different conditions.
Button Mangrove
Native to Brazil, it grows specifically in coastal dunes, mainly in mangrove areas.
The fruits of this plant float in water when it is in mangrove environments. This ends up being a great advantage so that the seeds can disperse more easily.
Cormorant
Water bird, dives in search of fish and remains underwater for a long time, going to appear again right in front, showing only its neck sticking out of the water. To make your dives easier, their feathers are completely soaked, eliminating the air that gets between them.
Almost always seen in large flocks flying close to water, in a “V” formation.
They appear in large flocks in Salinas from March to May.
Woodpecker
Small to medium in size, with colored feathers and, in most males, with a red crest.
Nests are dug into tree trunks as high as possible to protect against predators.
From 4 to 5 eggs are hatched by the female and also by the male for 20 days.
They feed mainly on insect larvae that are inside tree trunks, enlarging the cavity where the larvae are found with their powerful beak and introducing their long, moistened tongue.
Peregrine Falcon
Medium-sized diurnal bird of prey.
The species prefers habitats in mountainous or coastal areas.
Currently, the bird is considered the fastest animal in the world, reaching around 320 km/h or more.
The longest known life expectancy of a captive peregrine falcon is 25 years.
Maçarico
It occurs in northeastern Canada in the Quebec and Labrador regions. In winter it migrates to the coastal region of the Atlantic Ocean, from the United States of America to Brazil, normally found in mangroves and muddy beaches.
They push their long beaks deep into sand or mud in a pumping process, in a way that this action has often been compared to running a sewing machine.
Their diet consists of molluscs, marine worms, insects and other opportunistic foods like horseshoe crab eggs. In the Arctic, insects, spiders and other related invertebrates become its predominant food source.
Spoonbill
It sifts the water, shaking and dipping the beak in search of food, including fish, small amphibians, insects, shrimp, molluscs and crustaceans.
The presence of some substances in these food items, called carotenoids, give the spoonbill a pink coloration, which becomes more intense during the reproductive season.
They have an elaborate nuptial parade, which includes beak taps and mutual offerings of twigs.
Fisherman Martin
It is a natural species from the region of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, in the extreme south of America.
Such birds can measure up to 42 centimeters in length, having a bluish-gray head and back, white neck and neck, brown undersides.
Great Egret
It feeds mainly on fish, but has been seen eating almost anything that can fit in its beak.
It is very intelligent and can use pieces of bread as bait to attract the fish it feeds on.
At the time of reproduction, individuals of both sexes have long feathers on the back called egretas. These egretas have long been fashionable as an adornment for hats and clothing in Europe, and the demand for feathers led hundreds of thousands of herons to death right in their reproductive years.
Little White Heron
Measures from 51 to 61 centimeters in length.
The plumage is rich in powder, which is produced by powder plumes concentrated on the chest and sides of the body.
It feeds on fish very actively. It also appreciates insects, larvae, crabs, amphibians and small reptiles.
The couple builds a platform of dry branches on a tree, usually close to water, the eggs are incubated by the couple for 25 to 26 days, and when the chicks are born, which are nesting, the parents provide them with regurgitated food.
Tricolored Heron
It occurs from northeastern Venezuela in the Monagas region and in the Guianas to southern Peru and northeastern Brazilian Amazon, from Marajó Island to the state of Piauí; it also occurs on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean;
Their nests are platforms built from sticks in mangroves, on the ground, in bushes or low trees. where 2 to 4 eggs are laid.
It inhabits mangroves, coastal areas, estuaries and, eventually, inland waters, not far from the coast. Lives alone.
Little Blue Heron
It measures up to 52 cm in length.
When adult, it has a bluish-gray (slate blue) plumage.
It feeds on small invertebrates and fish.
Live alone or in groups spaced 2 or 3.
Their nests are platforms made of sticks, usually in mangroves, located 1 to 3 m above the waterline.
Lay 2-5 blue eggs.
Present throughout the Brazilian coast, Pantanal and Amazon Basin. Also found from the southern United States and Central America to Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.
Mangrove Saracura
Very agile, it searches many burrows in a short time with its head down, allowing a good approximation for records without the observer being noticed.
It occurs in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Maranhão, Pará, Paraíba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo and Sergipe.
It is known for inhabiting coastal mangroves and neighboring forests, and one of its Brazilian names is “saracura-da-praia”.
With the reduction of mangroves across the coastal strip, the saracura has resisted even in very small mangrove strips, as long as it finds food.
Already registered in a strip less than 100 meters long and with little vegetation.
North Carcará Hawk
As much as it is a bird of prey, it does not use its main aspects for hunting, such as its powerful claws and its incredibly wide eyes.
It is a bird that is distinguished by its eating habits and the fact that it is highly opportunistic, that is, in addition to eating several things that other birds of prey do not eat, such as the remains of rotten animals and other smaller birds, the Carcará do Norte hawk is it takes advantage of several occasions to eat the game of other animals.
But, as the carcará is a small bird, it cannot, for example, destroy a carrion, leaving this work to the vultures.
It is possible to find this variety of bird of prey from Brazil to Australia.
Seagull
It measures about 50 centimeters in length and weighs between 232 and 374 grams. Lives about 20 years.
It fishes generally during the twilight and at night, flying close to the water and with the lower part of the beak submerged, as if it were plowing, at a speed of about 36 km/h.
Catch fish and shrimp close to the surface without ever dipping your head.
It inhabits beaches of large rivers and lakes, estuaries and beaches along the coast.
It lives in larger groups only during the reproductive period, and in pairs or small groups outside of it.
It is often seen resting on beaches among other species.
Scarlet Ibis
It is a bird from the coast of South America.
Measures about fifty to sixty centimeters, the plumage is of a very strong red color, because of its food based on a crab (Tide Flame Crab) that has a large amount of beta-carotene.
Reproduction is done in colonies. Nests are made high up in mangrove trees. The puppies are born with a dark color and a white chest, becoming completely red after a year and a half of life.
Life Expectancy: Approximately 15 to 20 years.
It appears in large flocks in Salinas between the months of August and January.
Maguari
It measures up to 1.4 m in height with a wingspan of more than 2 m, weighing up to 4.5 kg.
It captures mainly aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, amphibians, aquatic snakes and fish.
The maguari is one of the most difficult stork species to be seen in a natural environment, because while other storks remain in swamps with little vegetation, this one remains in wet fields and flooded fields, in general humid environments with dense vegetation.
Found in much of South America, it is common in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and restricted to the Amazon and Northeastern Brazil.
Japu
One of the most beautiful sights in the South American forests is the sight of a towering tree occupied by a colony of japus.
The nests, long hanging bags sometimes 1 meter long, sway in the wind.
They make a lot of noise in the forest, with their singular vocalization and ceremonial: the bird leans forward in a graceful movement that ends with the vocalization.
It also issues a harsh call to the group meeting.
The group scours the forest canopies for food, wreaking as much damage as a bunch of monkeys!
Cownose Stingray
With the incidence of more than one type of stingray, it is worth highlighting the behavior one that is very curious, cownose stingray.
When the tide is high, it usually jumps high out of the water, giving an unscheduled spectacle to tourists who are contemplating the sea right in front of our pier.
Of impressive size, it rips through the fishermen's nets that cross its path.
Puffer Fish
Sometimes they “steal” the bait so often that it irritates the fisherman.
Although its meat is appreciated in some regions, the puffer fish is usually a little valued fish due to the toxins present in its viscera, capable of killing an adult human being.
We have already found several species around the pier, but the most common are the Pintado and the Macaw.
When they feel threatened, they swell up like a ball, making it difficult for their predators to act.
Catfish
They are found almost all over the world, but more than half of the known species are native to South America.
Most of these fish have nocturnal habits, living close to the bottom of dark and shallow waters.
They are, for the most part, predators that feed mainly on other fish.
In other European languages such as French, Italian and English they are generally known as "catfish". This name is due to the fact that most of its species have "whiskers" in their jaws.