Mangroves are characteristic of Marajó coastlines, identified by their large root system popping up from the sand and dirt to accommodate rising tides that usually flood mangroves twice a day.
There are many types of mangrove trees. The ones in the Mangrove of Marajo are Rhizophora and Avicennia trees, reaching up to 20 meters high (França 2012). Mangroves hold as much carbon as the annual emissions of 90,000 cars in a single square mile (NOAA 2022)! That means protecting their existence helps to keep the planet from warming too much.
Mangroves are also home to the locally known Turu, in Portuguese. Its scientific name is Teredo, also commonly known as the Ship "worm" clam. Turu can live for weeks without air or water.
Turu eats fallen Mangrove trees, but Turu also eats and lives in the wood of ships and docks. Christopher Columbus found Turu in his ships. Their eating caused so many holes and destruction that it caused his ships to start sinking!
Edible and in the same family as clams, Turu is a delicacy on Marajo Island. Turu is a mollusk in the shape of a worm. People eat Turu raw or cooked in soups with tomatoes and onions. It is rich in vitamins and protein.
NOAA. (2022, June 8). Coastal Blue Carbon. National Ocean Service website. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastal-blue-carbon/
França, Marlon C. et al. 2012.
