Wildlife of Brazil

The wildlife of Brazil includes all the naturally occurring animals, plants, and fungi in the country, making Brazil the most biodiverse place on Earth. Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which contains many of the world's species. With the greatest biodiversity of any country, Brazil has the most known types of plants, freshwater fish, amphibians, snakes, insects, and mammals.

Brazil also has many native edible fruits, with over 300 different kinds. It ranks third in the world for the number of bird and reptile species. Even though the total number of fungal species is still unknown, scientists have already found thousands of types. Most of the world's species live in tropical areas, and Brazil, along with other developing countries, is a key part of this rich natural world. Only Indonesia has more endemic species than Brazil.

Biodiversity

Brazil has the most animals, plants, and tiny living things of any country in the world. This is because Brazil is very big and has many different kinds of places where animals and plants live, like the Amazon rainforest, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Pantanal, Pampas, and Caatinga.

Brazil has many types of primates, freshwater fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, butterflies, and insects. Sadly, some of these animals live in places that are in danger because of human activities. Scientists think there are many more species in Brazil that we have not discovered yet.

Ecoregions

Main article: List of ecoregions in Brazil

Brazil is a big country with many places where animals and plants live. These places are called ecoregions. Brazil has many kinds of areas, like the jungles of the Amazon rainforest, forests near the coast called the Atlantic Forest, wide open fields known as the Cerrado, dry areas named the Caatinga, and a huge wet area called the Pantanal. All these different places help Brazil have many kinds of living things.

See also: List of biosphere reserves in Brazil

Animals

See also: List of mammals in Brazil and List of reptiles in Brazil

Brazil has many interesting animals. You can find wild canids like the maned wolf, bush dog, and pampas fox. There are also felines such as the jaguar, the puma, and the ocelot. Other animals include the giant anteater, sloths, armadillos, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. Brazil also has many primates, like the howler monkey and the capuchin monkey.

Brazil has many insects, birds, and water animals. The anaconda is one of the largest snakes in the world. Brazil is also home to the heaviest spider, the Goliath birdeater. With over 1,600 bird species, you can see many types of birds, including parrots, toucans, and hummingbirds. Brazil has many freshwater fish, such as the piranha, and other water animals like the pink dolphin and caimans.

Main articles: List of non-marine molluscs of Brazil and List of marine molluscs of Brazil

There are many types of molluscs in Brazil.

See also: List of stingless bees of Brazil

Brazil has more insects than any other country, with thousands of known species. New ones are discovered almost every day.

See also: List of birds of Brazil

Brazil has many bird species, including over 70 types of parrots. Birds in Brazil include colorful parrots, toucans, trogons, flamingos, ducks, vultures, hawks, eagles, owls, swans, and hummingbirds. Some penguins have also been found in Brazil. The largest bird is the rhea, which cannot fly.

See also: List of amphibians in Brazil

Brazil has many freshwater fish and amphibians. Well-known fish include the piranha. Other water animals are the pink dolphin, caimans, and the pirarucu. Brightly colored poison dart frogs are also found in Brazil.

Fungi

Brazil has many different kinds of fungi. Scientists have only recently started to study them. In Pernambuco, researchers found many types of fungi on one leaf, sometimes up to ten types! Early guesses suggest there may be over 2000 types of fungi that only live in Brazil. You can often see fungi in many places throughout the country.

Plants

Brazil has the most plant species of any country in the world, with 55,000 different kinds of plants. About 30% of these plants grow only in Brazil. The Atlantic Forest has many types of forests, including tropical and subtropical moist forests, tropical dry forests, tropical savannas, and mangrove forests. The Pantanal is a wetland with around 3,500 plant species. The Cerrado is the most diverse savanna in the world.

Forests cover about 59% of Brazil’s land. In 2020, there were about 496 million hectares of forest, with 485 million hectares being natural forests and 11 million hectares planted by people. Many of these forests are protected. The pau-brasil tree, which gave Brazil its name, was once common along the coast but is now rare because people cut it down for its valuable wood and dye. Since synthetic dyes were invented, people harvest pau-brasil less. Brazil is also home to many beautiful orchids, including types like Cattleya, Oncidium, and Laelia.

Brazil has many special plants in different areas. Along its border with Venezuela is Monte Roraima, where some plants eat insects because the soil has few nutrients.

• List of plants of Amazon Rainforest vegetation of Brazil
• List of plants of Atlantic Forest vegetation of Brazil
• List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil
• List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil
• List of plants of Pantanal vegetation of Brazil

Threats to wildlife

Main article: Conservation in Brazil

Many forests in Brazil, including parts of the Amazon Rainforest, have been lost. This is bad for the animals that live there. Many animals are in danger because of things like cutting down trees and taking animals from the wild. In some areas, almost all the trees have been cut down, leaving animals with nowhere to live. This is especially hard on animals in the Atlantic Forest, where very few trees are left. Many animals in Brazil are now at risk of disappearing forever because of these changes to their homes.

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