Otus bikegila. Credit score: Martim Melo
A brand new species of owl has simply been described from Príncipe Island, an island mendacity off the west coast of Central Africa that’s a part of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Scientists have been first capable of affirm its presence in 2016. Nonetheless, suspicions of its incidence gained traction again in 1998, and testimonies from native individuals counsel that its existence might be traced again so far as 1928.
An illustration of Otus bikegila. Credit score: Marco Correia
The brand new owl species was described in a paper printed on October 30 within the open-access journal ZooKeys primarily based on a number of strains of proof akin to morphology, plumage coloration and sample, vocalizations, and genetics. Information was gathered and processed by a world workforce led by Martim Melo (CIBIO and Pure Historical past and Science Museum of the College of Porto), Bárbara Freitas (CIBIO and the Spanish Nationwide Museum of Pure Sciences), and Angelica Crottini (CIBIO).
The fowl is now formally often called the Principe Scops-Owl, or Otus bikegila.
“Otus” is the generic identify given to a bunch of small owls sharing a typical historical past, generally referred to as scops-owls. They’re discovered throughout Eurasia and Africa and embody such widespread species because the Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops) and the African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis).
The scientists behind the invention additional clarify that the species epithet “bikegila” was chosen in homage to Ceciliano do Bom Jesus, nicknamed Bikegila — a former parrot harvester from Príncipe Island and now a ranger of its pure park.
“The invention of the Principe Scops-Owl was solely potential because of the native information shared by Bikegila and by his unflinching efforts to unravel this long-time thriller,” the researchers say. “As such, the identify can also be meant as an acknowledgment to all locally-based subject assistants who’re essential in advancing the information on the biodiversity of the world.”
Otus bikegila. Credit score: Martim Melo
Within the wild, the best method to acknowledge one can be its distinctive name — in truth, it was one of many most important clues resulting in its discovery.
“Otus bikegila‘s distinctive name is a brief “tuu” observe repeated at a quick charge of about one observe per second, paying homage to insect calls. It’s typically emitted in duets, virtually as quickly because the evening has fallen,” Martim Melo explains.
Otus bikegila. Credit score: Philippe Verbelen
Your complete Principe Island was extensively surveyed to find out the distribution and inhabitants measurement of the brand new species. Outcomes, printed within the journal Fowl Conservation Worldwide, present that the Principe Scops-Owl is discovered solely within the remaining old-growth native forest of Príncipe within the uninhabited southern a part of the island. There, it occupies an space of about 15 km2 (6 mile2), apparently because of a choice for decrease elevations. On this small space (about 4 instances the scale of Central Park), the densities of the owl are comparatively excessive, with the inhabitants estimated at round 1000-1500 people.
Otus bikegila. Credit score: Martim Melo
Nonetheless, as a result of all people of the species happen on this single and really small location (of which an element will likely be affected within the close to future by the development of a small hydro-electric dam), researchers have proposed that the species must be labeled as ‘Critically Endangered’, the best menace degree on the IUCN Purple Listing. This advice should nonetheless be evaluated by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature.
Monitoring the inhabitants will likely be important to get extra exact estimates of its measurement and observe its tendencies. For this objective, a survey protocol counting on the deployment of computerized recording models and AI to retrieve the information from these has been designed and efficiently examined.
“The invention of a brand new species that’s instantly evaluated as extremely threatened illustrates properly the present biodiversity predicament”, the researchers say. “On a constructive observe, the realm of incidence of the Principe Scops-Owl is absolutely included throughout the Príncipe Obô Pure Park, which can hopefully assist safe its safety.”
That is the eighth recognized species of fowl endemic to Príncipe, additional highlighting the unusually excessive degree of fowl endemism for this island of solely 139 km2.
Despite the fact that a brand new species of scops-owl was simply described from Príncipe, genetic knowledge indicated that the island was, surprisingly, doubtless the primary within the Gulf of Guinea to be colonized by a species of scops-owl.
Martim Melo and Bikegila with an owl. Credit score: Bárbara Freitas
“Though it might appear odd for a fowl species to stay undiscovered for science for thus lengthy on such a small island, that is not at all an remoted case on the subject of owls,” the researchers state. “For instance, the Anjouan Scops-Owl was rediscovered in 1992, 106 years after its final commentary, on Anjouan Island (often known as Ndzuani) within the Comoro Archipelago, and the Flores Scops-Owl was rediscovered in 1994, 98 years after the earlier report.”
“The invention of a brand new fowl species is at all times an event to have a good time and a chance to succeed in out to most people as regards to biodiversity,” says Martim Melo. “On this age of human-driven extinction, a significant world effort must be undertaken to doc what could quickly not be anymore,” he and his workforce state of their paper.
An aerial picture of south Principe. Credit score: Alexandre Vaz
“Birds are doubtless the best-studied animal group. As such, the invention of a brand new fowl species within the 21st century underscores each the reality of field-based explorations aiming at describing biodiversity, and the way such curiosity-driven endeavor is extra prone to succeed when coupled with native ecological information, the participation of eager beginner naturalists, and persistence,” they add.
They consider that this “new wave of exploration, carried out by professionals and amateurs alike,” will assist rekindle the hyperlink to the pure world, which will likely be important to assist revert the worldwide biodiversity disaster.
Reference: “A brand new species of scops-owl (Aves, Strigiformes, Strigidae, Otus) from Príncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea, Africa) and novel insights into the systematic affinities inside Otus” by Martim Melo, Bárbara Freitas, Philippe Verbelen, Sátiro R. da Costa, Hugo Pereira, Jérôme Fuchs, George Sangster, Marco N. Correia, Ricardo F. de Lima and Angelica Crottini, 30 October 2022, ZooKeys.
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1126.87635
