Wildlife refers to all species living in a given area. Therefore, it is important to know how to differentiate that when we talk about Brazilian fauna, we are talking about all the species that inhabit Brazil, but not necessarily only endemic or native species, since some animals are considered invasive species and / or have been introduced by human person.
To show you a little of our amazing wildlife, in this article by Animal Expert, we focus on the list of these Brazilian animals: native and endemic that are emblematic of our history, in addition to the animals that exist only in Brazil. Read on and marvel at the magnitude of each one!
- According to the Chico Mendes Institute [1].
- Brazil manages the world’s largest biodiversity heritage.
- In number.
- This translates into 120 thousand species of invertebrates and 8930 species of vertebrates.
- Among which:.
Of these, around 1173 are threatened with extinction. All registered species can be found in the Endangered Species List (2014) provided by ICMBio [2] or on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List. [3]
There is no shortage of species and more species to make lists of native animals of Brazil, but it is true that some of them are better known and attract attention for their undeniable characteristics. Some of them are:
It appears in several Brazilian biomes and is still known for its flexible trunk and pig-like size. It is also found in other South American countries.
The Amazonian manatee, as the name suggests, is found only in the fresh waters of the Amazon basins and in the Orinoco River, which has tributaries of the Amazon. The Amazonian manatee feeds on pastures, macrophytes and aquatic plants. And from one plant to another, you can spend up to 8 hours a day eating
Or red dolphin, this name refers to 3 species of river dolphins found in the waters of the Amazonian sub-basins, Solim Soles, Araguaia and Bolivianos.
Although it is one of the native animals of Brazil, this species of jaguar has an increasingly rare appearance in Brazilian wildlife due to poaching and habitat destruction.
This snake is one of the animals originating in Brazil, but can also be found in tropical areas of the Americas. It can be up to 2 meters long and is considered a snakefish.
This anthill can eat up to 30,000 a day in the regions where it lives: the Brazilian Cerrado and other parts of South and Central America.
Whenever you want to search for a species that exists only in a certain place, look for endemic wildlife. The species endemic to a given region are those that exist only somewhere. Endemism is valid for animal and plant species and its cause is a limitation by physical, geographical, biological and/or climatic barriers. Animals that exist only in Brazil are native or endemic species that can also be found only in certain parts of the country.
Some animals that only exist in Brazil are
Among the animals that exist only in Brazil, it is a species endemic to the Caatinga de Bahia that, unfortunately, is endangered.
It is one of the most representative species of Brazilian fauna and, today, one of the rarest. The golden lion puppet is endangered and is endemic to the Atlantic forest.
As the name suggests, this species is found only in the Brazilian interior. It may even seem like a common parakeet, without the fact that it is a species that is also threatened by illegal trade.
The species of the same name of the historical sites of Monteiro Lobato is one of the animals that exists only in Brazil, more precisely on top of the closed forests. Deforestation of its habitat is one of the causes of the species’ risk of extinction.
Although Brazilian dogs belong to the same species, some specific breeds can be considered animals that exist only in Brazil. We talked about it in this video on the Animal Expert Channel:
If you would like to read more articles similar to Brazilian animals: native, endemic and endangered, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.