The Brazilian territory is vast and diverse. It hosts the Amazon Forest, the largest tropical forest in the world, which is nearly nine times the size of Italy, for instance. The Amazon Forest is the richest and most complex ecosystem known to mankind. In the Amazon we can find at least 30% of the genetic variety of the planet. In other words, there you can find 55,000 species of plants, 428 of mammals, 1,622 of birds, 467 of reptiles, and 516 types of amphibians. Check below some of the most famous Brazilian animals.

The Amazon Rainforest is very large and 60% of its territory lies within Brazilian borders. However, Brazil hosts many others ecological treasures, like “Mata Atlântica” (Atlantic Forest), “Cerrado” (Grassland), “Pantanal” (Swampland), the “Caatinga” (Scrubland) and the “Pampas” (Prairies). In the Atlantic Forest, for instance, we can find about 15% of all animals and plants on the planet!

Brazilian plants and animals live in different ecosystems, where natural conditions vary a lot. In the Pampas, at the southernmost part of the country, the average temperature is 68°F (20° Celsius), while in the Amazon Region it goes up to 81°F (27.5° Celsius). In the northeastern Caatinga region, it rains only 3.15 inches (800mm) per year, while the Rain Forest is one of the wettest areas of the world: in some of its areas more than 32 feet (10 meters) of rain may fall during a single year.

Click on the topics below to find more information about animals and plants from Brazil. Did you know that there are millions of animals and plants yet to be discovered in Brazilian ecosystems? And that the name “Brazil” comes after a tree?