The Amazon rainforest is a moist broadleaf forest that blankets 5,400,000 square kilometers of the Amazon River basin in South America. (aveholidayhome.com)

The Amazon forest animals

Golden Lion

The Amazon rainforest is a moist broadleaf forest that blankets 5,400,000 square kilometers of the Amazon River basin in South America. The shear vastness of this forest is difficult to comprehend. It stretches across the boundaries of nine nations—Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Its biodiversity is unparalleled—an estimated one in ten animals on the planet inhabits the Amazon rainforest. Listed here are a few of the better-known species from the Amazon rainforest and its surrounding habitats.

Squirrel Monkey

Although the Amazon has few large mammals, it has lots of different types. There are around 800 species, of which the largest group is bats. In fact, there are more species of bats in the Amazon than anywhere else. As with other animal groups, Amazon mammals comprise a fascinating fauna, including the world's biggest otter, a freshwater manatee and tree-dwelling anteaters. Many of these are rare and shy, hence not usually seen in the wild. Others, such as the pink dolphin, are difficult to photograph. Important groups of mammals include carnivores, monkeys, anteaters and sloths, tapirs, peccaries, rodents and bats.

Jaguars are widely distributed. Their range extends from southern Arizona and NewMexico to northern Argentina and Brazil. The Amazon Basin contains the largest population of jaguars. Their preferred habitat is that of tropical lowland forests. They also inhabit scrublands, coastal forests, and swamps.

Life has been generous in its allocation of fish species to the Amazon region. Around 2,000 species are described, but scientists estimate at least another 1,000 remain to be discovered. This is the most diverse freshwater fauna in the world. Miniature living gems such as the tetras provide a source of pleasure for aquarists world-wide. Numerous species are a crucial source of protein for local people and several comprise an important export commodity. Some are fearsome, such as the infamous piranha and electric eel. Others are just plain weird, such as the arowhana, which catches insects by leaping out of the water and the leaf fish which not only looks like a leaf, but also swims as though it was floating in the current like a dead leaf. About four-fifths of the Amazon fishes are characins — a group relatively rare outside the tropics. The other important groups are the cichlids and the osteoglossids. The latter are living fossils and include the world's largest freshwater fish.

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