The Amazon rainforest at 2.1 million sq miles (5,500,000 sq km) is the largest rainforest in the world. The forest covers most of the 2.7 million sq mile (7,000,000 sq km) Amazon basin and touches nine countries. The majority of the forest, 60 percent, is within Brazil’s borders, followed in descending order by Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
Also known as the Amazon Jungle or Amazonia, the forest accounts for more than half of the planet’s remaining rain forest and is home to millions of species, including 2.5 million insect species, 40,000 plant species, some 2,000 birds and mammals, 3,000 freshwater fish species and more than 370 types of reptiles.
Scientists have been constantly rediscovering the rainforest, surprising people with Amazonian rainforest splendor. Here are some of the jungle’s most unique and beloved animals.
*Photos Via Shutterstock: Lion Tamarin; Amazonian River Turtle; Tapir; Tree Monkey; Amazon Toad-Headed Turtle; Pygmy Marmoset Ape; Dwarf Caiman; Poison Dart Frog; Mimic Poison Dart Frog; Piranha; Side-Necked Turtle; Black Jaguar; Toucan; The Scarlet Macaw; Hoffmans Two Toed Sloth; Emperor Tamarin