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Expedition Notes
The expedition soon earned the nickname “Medusa-Vampiro” among the team — a mnemonic label inspired by the ghostly appearance of our suspended mosquito net. When pulled up, it floated eerily over our heads like a spectral jellyfish, its folds swaying in the air. The image evoked a surreal atmosphere that oddly matched the tone of Colin Wilson’s 1976 novel The Space Vampires, which lent the name. Medusa-Vampiro became our way of summing up the odd, humid charm of the trip — where sweat, shadows, and science met under a hanging veil of nylon mesh.
The "Medusa-Vampiro" expedition was conducted in March 2021 across the Mangaratiba region of Rio de Janeiro State. The expedition focused on surveying arachnid diversity in coastal Atlantic Forest areas and state park environments.
Led by A.B. Kury, the field team included A.F. García and D.R. Pedroso. The expedition covered diverse habitats from the Matutu region to the protected areas within PARES Cunhambebe, exploring different elevational zones and microhabitats characteristic of the coastal Atlantic Forest.
The Mangaratiba region and PARES Cunhambebe provided excellent collecting opportunities across the three sampling localities, contributing valuable specimens to ongoing systematic and biogeographical studies of the coastal Rio de Janeiro arachnid fauna.