What Animals Are in the Brazilian Rainforest?

Insects and Spiders

More than 17 percent of the world's 146,000 butterfly species occur in Brazil.David Silverman/Getty Images News/Getty Images

In their report, titled "How Many Species are There in Brazil," Lewinsohn and Prado describe 88,000 known species of arthropods, the phylum including insects and spiders. They further theorize that upwards of 1 million insects and more than 75,000 spiders are expected to occur in Brazil. In the last decade, at least 500 new spider species have been discovered in the Amazon region. A new species of tarantula, the bluegreen pinktoe, is a metallic blue with pink feet pads. When challenged, the species occasionally will spray excrement at the threat, with an accuracy of one meter. Insect species include many ants, such as a new species, Martialis heureka -- loosely translated as "ant from Mars" -- that is subterranean, blind and predatory.

In 2000, a new solitary species of piranha was discovered in Brazil.Oli Scarff/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Brazil is home to more than 3,000 species of freshwater fish, more than twice that of any other country. These species include two of the 65 worldwide species of hagfish, 110 marine and 20 freshwater species of stingray, and approximately 750 marine and 3,000 freshwater species of bony fishes, or Class Osteichthyes. The majority of the freshwater fish species originate and disperse from the Amazon basin. In 2005, a new giant species of catfish, the goliath catfish, was found in the Amazon River in Brazil. The species can grow to over 4 feet in length. The electric knifefish, which uses high frequency waves to communicate, was discovered in Brazil in 2009.

Found in northern and central Brazil, blue poison arrow frogs are poor swimmers as they lack webbing between their toes.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images

Lewinsohn and Prado document 633 known species of reptiles and 687 known species of amphibians in their 2005 study. Brazil has the second highest number of species of amphibians in the world, comprised mostly of frogs, tree frogs and toads, but also some salamanders and blind snakes. Species, like the giant leaf frog and pumpkin toadlet, are being studied for the development of pharmaceutical products. Snakes and lizards make up the majority of reptile species. In 2008, a new snake was identified in Brazil, Pseudoboa martinsi. Vibrantly colored, it has a black head cap and vertebral stripe, red side flanks and a white belly. The Amazon toadhead turtle, with a large, wide, round head, was discovered in Brazil in 2001.

Toucans, like this Ramphastos species, are primarily frugivores, preferring the ripest fruit.David Silverman/Getty Images News/Getty Images

With over 1600 species, 191 of them endemic, Brazil is the third richest country in terms of birds. As of 2007, 103 bird species are considered endangered. In 2002, a new raptor species, the cryptic forest-falcon, was discovered in the Amazon. Many of Brazil's bird species often are the most spectacular in color, including species of toucans and parrots. Also in 2002, the bald parrot was identified in Brazil. This magnificently colored species is characterized by a bright orange featherless head, yellow-green neck, green body, and wings mixed with ultramarine blue, cyan, orange-yellow, emerald green and scarlet feathers. Due to logging activities within its limited range, the species already is listed as "near threatened."

The world's smallest true monkey, pygmy marmosets, are gumophores, gouging holes in trees to feed on sap or gum.Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte/Getty Images

At least 10 percent of the world's mammals are found in Brazil. Lewinsohn and Prado identify 541 known species, but this number is expected to jump with the discoveries of new species, most likely rodents. Of the total, 77 species are primates, collectively known as the "New World" primates. Endemic species account for 131 of the total, and more than 70 of the total number of mammals are considered endangered, among them rodents, like the Brazilian spiny rice rat and the critically endangered Brazilian arboreal mouse. A number of primates, notably tamarin and marmoset species, also are endangered, as are the giant armadillo and giant otter. In 2001, a small porcupine species, Coendou roosmalenorum, was discovered during a wildlife rescue effort at a Brazilian hydroelectric dam. The Rio Acari marmoset was discovered in 2000 in Brazil's lowland Amazon rainforest. According to World Wildlife Fund accounts, the species was being kept as a pet by inhabitants of a small settlement near the Rio Acari, Brazil.