in the following decades, he visited at least 200 caves in the region of minas gerais and rio de janeiro state, and recorded over a hundred species, most of them extinct, such as the saber tooth tiger.

located in the tijuca forest, next to gruta paulo e virgínia, the surucucu cave  is usually one of the last caverns visited along the tijuca cave trail - it is also a common spot for hikers and spelunkers to rest and picnic.