The Amazon is the biome of Brazil, occupies more than 40% of the national territory and includes the largest forest in the world, the flora and fauna of its ecosystems reveal incredible biodiversity and many Amazonian animals are not found anywhere else in the world.Although all these species are fascinating for their rarity, some attract even more attention because they are quite different.
Are you passionate about nature and want to know more about the strange animals found in the Brazilian Amazon?In this article of the Article of Expert in Animals, you will find curiosities and images of animals typical of the Amazon that are distinguished by their striking appearance and the particular characteristics of their morphology.You can also find unique species of this biome that are seriously threatened with extinction.
- When we talk about strange animals found in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Don’t we necessarily mean species?.
- Let’s say it’s not attractive to the aesthetic standard of society.
- This list includes beautiful animals with very rare characteristics.
- Which are rarely found in other species.
Anyway, the most important thing is to discover which animals are typical of the Amazon, with unique characteristics that make this biome one of the most diverse in the world, here we leave you some curiosities about these unusual species.
In fact, it is not only a strange animal found in the Brazilian Amazon, but a vast family of frogs belonging to the family Centrolenidae.
The transparent skin allows to see at a glance the viscera, muscles and bones of these amphibians, making it a privileged place among the strange animals of the Amazon rainforest, which also inhabit Paraguay, north of South America and the jungles of Central America.
A fish that looks like a huge aquatic snake and is able to emit electric waves ?, yes, is possible when we talk about the typical animals of the Amazon, the poraque (Electrophorus electricus), also known as electric eel, has such special characteristics that it is the only species of fish of the genus Gymnotidae.
The eel is capable of emitting electric waves from inside the body to the outside because its body has a set of special cells that emit powerful electric shocks of up to 600 W.Why use this fascinating skill for many functions, such as hunting, defending against predators, and communicating with other eels.
Arrow frogs are known and feared as one of the most dangerous animals in the Amazon.Despite their small size, the skin of these amphibians contains a powerful poison called batracotoxin, which was once used by the Indians at the tip of the arrows to cause the rapid death of animals they hunted to feed and also enemies invading their territory.
Today there are more than 180 species of arrowhead frogs that make up the superfamily Dendrobatidae, the most toxic being the golden arrow frog (Phyllobates terribilis), whose venom could kill more than 1,000 people.on this list of strange animals in the Amazon rainforest, right?
Few would probably imagine that a charming little mammal would be one of the strange animals found in the Brazilian Amazon, however, juparus (Potos flavus) are endemic animals of the American continent, they have special characteristics that differentiate them from other species that the they form the family of the procionides, reason why it is the only species of the genus Potos.
In Brazil it is also known as a night monkey because it has nocturnal habits and may be similar to a tamarind, but in reality jupars belong to the same family as raccoons and coatÃes, and are not related to the species of monkeys that live inhabit the Brazilian jungles.Its most notable physical characteristic is the golden fur and the long tail it uses to hold on to the branches of trees.
Why would they baptize a lizard in honor of Jesus Christ?Well, because this reptile has the incredible ability to “walk” on water.Thanks to the combination of light weight, low body density, the anatomy of its hind legs (which have membranes between the toes) and the speed that this small lizard can reach when moving, it becomes possible that instead of sinking as virtually all animals could run in rivers and other bodies of water.An extraordinary ability to escape larger and heavier predators.
The most interesting thing is that among the strange animals found in the Brazilian Amazon, it is not only a species that has this ability, in fact, the basil family includes four species, the most common being Basiliscus basiliscus, better known as common basil.Although they are one of the animals that live in the Brazilian Amazon, the lizards of Jesus also live in other jungles of South and Central America.
The jechythyanabia (Fulgora laternaria) is known in English as a peanut head insect, but it is not only the shape of the head that draws attention to this Amazonian animal, the appearance of this insect is quite strange and very unattractive, but it is for a good reason, to camouflage itself, being a small and harmless pet, its only defense mechanism to escape predators is to camouflage itself among the leaves , branches and soil of its natural habitat.
Probably the shape of the head of the jechythyreniabia try to imitate the head of a lizard, in addition, its wings have two spots that resemble the eyes of the owls, useful strategies to confuse and deceive predators.
The anacondas are so famous that they have even become protagonists of the big screens, it is one of the few strange animals of the Amazon rainforest that has become a movie star, however, away from this murderous image painted in the films, these great snakes with semi-aquatic habits are quite secret and attacks against people are rare , usually occur when anaconda is threatened by human presence.
Currently four species of anaconda endemic to South America are recognized: the green anaconda that inhabits the Brazilian Amazon is the largest of these four species, measures up to 9 meters long and weighs more than 200 kilos, so it is considered the strongest and heaviest snake in the world, losing size only in favor of the crosslinked python.
Of all the types of ants that exist in the world, the Cape-Capean ant (Paraponera clavata) is striking for being the largest known species in the world, they are so large that they can be confused with wasps, although they cannot fly.
In addition, it has a powerful puncture, which can be up to 30 times more painful than that of a wasp.In fact, they say the pain caused by a paraponera bite is comparable to the impact of a bullet and can last more than 24 hours.No wonder these insects are also called bullet ants (mainly in English and Spanish).
At first glance, candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa) may look like a small, harmless fish with a transparent body with no really striking physical characteristics, but why can it be considered one of the strangest animals in the Brazilian Amazon?This animal is one of the few known hematophage vertebrates, that is, it feeds on the blood of other animals.
These tiny catfish parents have hook-shaped spines that they use to penetrate the skin of other fish, absorb blood and hold firmly; although rarer, they can also enter through the urinary or anus canal of bathers and parasititate them, a painful situation that usually requires surgery to be resolved.
Image: Reproduction / William Costa-Portal Amaznia
Can a bird be one of the strange animals found in the Brazilian Amazon?Especially when it comes to one?It is able to go completely unnoticed in the middle of its natural habitat.The color and pattern of the street sale of the common Urutau (Nyctibius griseus) perfectly mimic the bark of dry, dead or broken tree trunks.
In addition, his eyes have a small slit in his eyelids through which the bird can continue to see even with his eyes closed.They also demonstrate an impressive ability to remain completely still for several hours, even when they detect the presence of other animals or people.This ability allows the urutau to outwit potential predators and save a lot of energy while escaping.
Image: Playback / Omensageiro
According to Brazil’s catalogue of taxonomic species [1], initiated by the Ministry of the Environment, Brazil’s wildlife includes more than 116,000 registered species of vertebrate and invertebrate animals.Unfortunately, about 10% of these Brazilian species are endangered and are the most affected.The biome is precisely the Amazon.
Studies conducted by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation [2] (ICMBio) between 2010 and 2014 reveal that at least 1,050 animals in the Amazon are at risk of disappearing in the coming decades.Among the animals of the endangered Amazon, it is possible to find fish, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds and invertebrate animals.It would be impossible to talk about so many species in so few lines.However, here are some emblematic animals of this Brazilian biome that are endangered:
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