Marsh tapaculo

Abstract: Described as recently as 1998, Marsh Tapaculo Scytalopus iraiensis is a peculiar, marshdwelling Rhinocryptid, apparently unique within the genus in being restricted to such habitat (Bornschein et al. 1998, Krabbe & Schulenberg 2003). Part of the S. speluncae group, a taxonomically complex assemblage of tapaculos restricted to south-eastern South America, S. iraiensis is currently considered Endangered at global and national levels (Machado et al. 2005, BirdLife International 2006). Until recently, the species was known solely from a few localities in Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil (Bornschein et al. 1998, 2001, BirdLife International 2000, 2004, Krabbe & Schulenberg 2003, Maurício 2005, Straube et al. 2005, Raposo et al. 2006). Here, we present the first records of S. iraiensis in the highlands of Minas Gerais and review its geographic distribution. We conducted specific surveys for S. iraiensis in Minas Gerais. Vocalisations were taperecorded using Sony TCM 5000EV, Marantz PMD201 and Panasonic RQ-L31 tape-recorders, and Sennheiser ME-66 and ME-88 microphones. Tape-recordings have been or will be deposited at the Arquivo Sonoro Prof. Elias Coelho (ASEC), Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One specimen was collected and deposited in the ornithological collection of the Departamento de Zoologia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (DZUFMG), Belo Horizonte. Voucher specimens of some plants present in marshes where S. iraiensis was recorded were deposited in the herbarium of the Departamento de Botânica da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BHCB). We also checked specimens of S. iraiensis housed at the Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (MCP), Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ), and Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém (MPEG). New records for S. iraiensis are presented below. All localities are listed from north to south and are mapped on Fig. 1.