Bruna Venturinelli at I Heart Brazil

Learn more about the most magnificent rainforest in the world with these staggering Amazon Rainforest facts! The Amazon Biome is home to no less than five ecosystems (rainforest, seasonal forest, deciduous forest, flooded forest, and savanna), and so much diversity can only account for a unique place on Earth. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covering 2.1 million square miles (5.5 million square km). The 1.4 billion acres of rainforest known as Amazon is referred to as Earth’s lungs as it produces more than 20% of the world’s oxygen.

Some of its tributaries run up to 932 miles (1,500 km) in length, the largest including Madeira spanning Bolivia and Brazil at 2,082 miles (3,352 km), the Purus traveling Peru and Brazil at 1,995 miles (3,211 km), and Japurá spanning Colombia and Brazil at 1,750 miles (2,820 km). This tropical forest, which surrounds this river, has indeed mind-blowing animal numbers: 1,500 amphibian species including 80 species of frogs, 2.5 million insect species, 430 species of mammals, 1,800 species of birds, 2,500 butterfly species, 450 different reptiles, 40,000 to 70,000 species of plants, 10,000 different types of trees, more than 3 billion individual trees some reaching a dizzying 200 feet (60 m) in height. The Amazon River is the primary habitat of many animals, such as the giant otter, also called river wolf; Arapaima, known to locals as pirarucu, one of the largest freshwater fish species, growing up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length; Anaconda, one of the largest species of snake that spends most of its time in water and preys on livestock and other mammals; piranhas, an omnivorous species of fish that move in large schools. These activities have a damaging effect on the complex Amazon ecosystem and have led to the endangerment of many Amazon species.

With over 16,000 tree species, 420 mammals, 380 reptiles, 400 amphibians, 1,300 birds, and 3,000 freshwater fishes, the Amazon is home to more species of plants and animals than any other terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. Of all the rainforest animals in Brazil, the giant otter is one of the endangered species in the Amazon Rainforest due to poaching for fur trading. This Amazon Rainforest mammal species has a squat body with reddish-brown fur and is 22-29 feet long. Because they can hang onto branches with their long claws, these Amazon Rainforest mammals can feed on leaves found too high for other animals to reach.

In fact, it’s the world’s largest spider in terms of size, weighing 175g and growing up to 5.1 inches. By raising their legs and letting the wind propel their body along the water surface, this Amazon Rainforest spider can perform the cool trick of sailing on the water, thus saving energy. This Amazon Rainforest spider, also known as common pinktoe, has a dark-colored body, pinkish feet, and measures up to 6 inches with abdominal coloration ranging from yellow to violet at maturity. To deepen your understanding of the wide range of animals in the Amazon Rainforest, you might want to browse my other articles where I talk about the monkeys, mammals, and other invertebrate animals that live in this tropical forest.