Jacaré-de-papo-amarelo capturado na foz do rio Paraíba do Sul. Desenho
incluído em Abbildungen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens, de Maximiliano
de Wied-Neuwied, 1815Broad-snouted caiman caught in the mouth of Paraíba do Sul River. Drawing
included in Abbildungen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens by Maximilian of
Wied-Neuwied, 1815antelius); Gecko incanescens; the tropical house gecko (discov-
ered by Maximilian, Topidurus torquatus torquatus, with a draw-
ing of one in his Abbildungen zur Naturgeschichte Brasilien’s);
Lapwing (Vanellus caynnensis); herons, seagulls, Southern Lap-
wing, terns and mallards; an army of jigger (Pulex penetrans for
Maximilian, now Tunga penetrans) that plagued all the menbers
of the expedition; the bare-faced ibis (Phimosus infuscatus
nudrifrons), the mangrove black hawk; Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia
ajaja), ducks, Neotropic Cormorant, anhinga (Anhinga anhinga,
also called biguá-tinga, carará or miuá in portuguese), scarlet
ibis (currently almost disappeared from the southern Brazilian
coast), Plovers and American Oystercatcher. “It was truly aston-
ishing the multitude of mallards and marsh birds that we found
there,” the naturalist prince exclaimed in ecstasy. Beyond Bar-
ra do Furado, Maximilian encounters Plovers and White-faced
Whistling-Duck. Thereafter, the expedition crosses Feia lagoon,
leaving the restinga towards the alluvial plain.
In the small stretch of the northern restinga, the German
naturalist found Surinam cherry, cashew and guava trees, a new
species of Sophora (littoralis), with yellow flowers and a hexag-
onal cactus. Shortly after, the expedition plunged into the im-
mense seasonal forest towards Espirito Santo(22).
Saint-Hilaire, another European naturalist, dedicated to
botany, pointed out in the section between Macaé and Barra do
Furado:
... a great plain that extends between the
sea and the forest-covered hills. There,
in the middle of a white and almost pure
sand, I found a vegetation similar, at
least in the aspect, to that of the Cabo
Frio restinga; However, near Cabiúnas,
the bushes are generally sparse and less
vigorous, do not form tufts, and at the
time of my trip there were much fewer
flowers. Here, as in Cabo Frio, Myrtaceae
are larger in number than the plants from
other families. In dry places the spaces
between the bushes are entirely naked;
however, whenever the soil becomes a
little damp, grows a thin and rickety turf,
in the middle of which there is an abun-
dance of one Xyris, three or four species
of small Eriocaulon of solitary flowers, a
genus of plants that seeks similar lands
to those that in our country are preferred
by Exacum filiforme and by Linum radi-
ola.Further on, near Paulista ́s farm, he set the feet in a de-
serted and sandy region, with dunes that stretched between
the road and the sea. To the inland there was a succession of
brackish lagoons. In some of them, the naturalist came upon
a Cyperacea very similar to the Scirpus lacustris, a large Sag-
ittaria, a white water lily, and one Utricularia. Alisma ranuncu-
loides grew on the lagoon banks and Drosera intermedia grew
in marshy places. It was also Inevitable to find the now abun-
dant Typha domingensis, popularly known as taboa (southern
cattail), which is a plant of great ecological value. Joining other
naturalists, the coastal psamophilic vegetation did not present
any major attractions to Saint-Hilaire.