MANAUS, BRAZIL – Two songs from the Garantido Boi-Bumbá folk group in Brazil's Amazonas state have found a place in science. Kamara and Mãe da Mata now lend their names to newly identified grasshopper species described in a study by the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA). The research, published on July 24 in the international journal Zootaxa, identified nine new grasshopper species and four new genera. Eight of the species were found in the Brazilian Amazon.
Among the discoveries, two stand out for honoring the Parintins Folklore Festival. The species Kamara kratxatxa, meaning "jaguar grasshopper," was named after the song Kamara, released by Garantido Boi-Bumbá in 2026. The scientific name was developed with the collaboration of João Kamarayano, a member of the Hixkaryana Indigenous people, incorporating elements of the group's language and culture into the species' nomenclature.
The species Proscopia caacy was named after the song Mãe da Mata, performed by Garantido in 2011. The word caacy, derived from the Tupi-Guarani language, means "mother of the forest." The study was conducted by Amazonian researcher Larissa Lima de Queiroz, José Albertino Rafael of INPA, and Raphael Aquino Heleodoro of the National Museum (MNRJ).
According to Larissa Lima de Queiroz, the names were chosen to bring science and culture closer together.
"I wanted to name part of the Amazon's fauna after Indigenous peoples. The Parintins Festival teaches us about the region's ethnic groups, languages and traditions. As the only Amazonian researcher studying grasshoppers in Brazil, I wanted to dedicate this small part of the Brazilian Amazon's fauna to names inspired by Indigenous peoples. I have also been a Garantido supporter since childhood, so I chose my favorite songs, Mãe da Mata and Kamara, as inspiration," Larissa said.
The research began in 2019 during Larissa's doctoral studies, but fieldwork did not start until 2022, after COVID-19 vaccination campaigns made expeditions possible.
In addition to field expeditions, she examined specimens preserved in museums in Brazil and abroad. Some insects, including Proscopia caacy, had been collected as early as 1984 but were only recently recognized as representing a previously undescribed species.
"Part of the search for new species takes place in museum collections, using specimens collected by previous researchers. The Proscopia caacy grasshoppers, for example, were collected in 1984, but only now have we determined that they represent a new species," Larissa explained.
Amazon Agency