Amazon River Living Animals
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most diverse places on the planet. It's home to some of the most incredible animals we've ever seen—from frogs that seem like they came straight out of a sci-fi movie to even more curious birds.
There are spectacular creatures who make their home at every layer of the rainforest. Some live on the floor and rise to the canopy, while others live at the top and only swoop down to catch a meal. Here, we present 17 of the most amazing Amazon rainforest animals.
The fearsome Harpy is the biggest raptor in the Amazon as well as the largest eagle in the Americas. Harpy wingspans can reach 6.5 feet across, and they hunt everything from sloths, to monkeys, to opossums, and even the occasional brocket deer.
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Harpys are natural-born hunters whose talons can grow to five inches long. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that's longer than a grizzly bear's claws!
Females, which can grow to twice the size of the males, can weigh up to 24 pounds. Both sexes tend to stay away from humans, but can get defensive if they feel threatened or feel that their nests are in danger. Sadly, deforestation is affecting Harpy populations, which have been in decline since the 1800s.
The striking Blue Morpho, which has an incredibly short 115-day lifespan, can be found in the tropical rainforests of Latin America, usually fluttering about close to the forest floor unless it's mating season. When this time comes, the Blue Morpho flies through all layers of the rainforest to find a fellow butterfly that will help with species propagation.
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It's easy to spot this particular butterfly in the rainforest because of its bright blue coloring. According to the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance, some aircraft pilots have been lucky enough to spot large groups of Blue Morphos basking in the sunlight on the forest canopy.
They're tropical nocturnal birds that hunt at night and sleep during the day. They have coloring that makes them extremely difficult to spot in the wild since they blend in with tree bark so well. This evolution allows them to rest at ease and save their energy for hunting insects.
Potoos have massive eyes that allow them to see insects in the dark and insanely wide mouths that they open as they fly through the air in an effort to catch moths and other flying bugs.
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Also known as the Amazon River dolphin, the pink dolphin thrives in freshwater and is characterized by its rosy hue and pointed rostrum. The river dolphin (also known as boto) is gray all over when it's born and gradually obtains its pink color as it gets older.
Pink river dolphins aren't picky eaters and enjoy chowing down on turtles, crabs, shrimp, and several species of fish. But pink river dolphin populations are vulnerable due to factors including mercury pollution and river and lake contamination.
These little guys were dubbed glass frogs because their translucent bellies allow us to see their organs. It sounds like something you'd see in a trippy sci-fi flick, but glass frogs are real.
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They typically have green-hued skin on the dorsal side of their bodies, but colorless, clear skin on their ventral sides. You can find them in humid forests throughout Central and South America.
Black caimans are fierce predators, feeding on a range of fish, reptiles, and rodents (like the capybara). Some males have grown as long as 13 feet from snout to tail and larger specimens have been known to be aggressive toward people, even attacking them.
The black caiman looks similar to the American alligator, but has a darker body that goes from a lightly striped black and white coloration to a much darker black with some lighter spots.
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The teeth of a caiman are made to clamp down and grip, but not tear, so these guys wait until their prey has drowned, and then they swallow it whole.
Capybaras have naturally dry skin, so living near a source of water is essential to their wellbeing. And since these guys feed on vegetation, they count on water to sustain their food source.
They might not look it, but capybaras are great swimmers and are able to hold their breath for five minutes at a time in order to wait out predators.
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The giant river otter is pretty large compared to standard otters. It can grow up to six feet in length, and the largest recorded otter weighed a whopping 70 pounds, though scientists estimate that there may be bigger ones that have yet to be discovered.
Giant river otters are born completely covered in fur. This includes their snouts, making them one of very few mammals to have a hairy nose.
The Jesus lizard, more scientifically known as a basilisk, was aptly named thanks to its ability to run on the surface of water.
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The Jesus lizard is related to the iguana and opts to live near water for an easy escape in the event that a predator attacks. (And there are a couple of predators that threaten this little guy, including birds of prey, snakes, and even some fish.)
This primate has the ability to utilize its tail as a fifth limb, which is an evolutionary development that allows it to move easily and quickly through trees and dense vegetation.
Spider monkey tails are so strong and adept at gripping that they're able to support the full weight of the monkey as it hangs from a branch.
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These guys live in groups of around 35, but forage in smaller circles. They're wary of humans (due to hunting) and will break tree branches in order to hurl them at people.
Piranhas get a bad rep for being vicious, but the truth is, they tend to keep to themselves and only get excited during a feeding frenzy.
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In reality, humans don't have to worry too much about death by piranha bite. A school of these fish won't attack larger prey such as humans or capybaras unless their food source was already dead or severely injured and dying, according to the Smithsonian.
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The Smithsonian reports that Matamatas are primarily aquatic and prefer the soft, muddy bottoms of slow-moving, shallow bodies of water, such as streams, swamps and marshes, but can also be found in the shallow parts of the Amazon River.
Michigan State University notes that large red and black spots on the peanut head bug's underwings look like large eyes when the bug spreads its wings. If these don't scare away predators, the bug releases a skunk-like spray.
The Amazonian anaconda belongs to the boa constrictor family. And although it's not poisonous, it's still one of the deadliest creatures in the rainforest.
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Anacondas suffocate and crush their prey before swallowing them whole. This mighty reptile essentially sits at the top of the Amazonian food chain, but does occasionally fall prey to caimans and jaguars.
Poison dart frogs may be tiny, but they're also incredibly deadly. The minute creatures are vibrantly colored and speckled (a phenomena called aposematic coloration) in order to deter predators from eating them.
Interestingly, dart frogs born and raised in captivity never develop poison, leading scientists to believe their poison is assimilated from the plants and insects they eat.
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Bullet ants are known for having incredibly painful stings. In fact, they rank 4+ on the Schmidt Pain Index (with four being the highest level of excruciating pain felt from a Hymenoptera bite) and their bite is described as pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch rusty nail in your heel.
The bite of a bullet ant has also been compared to the feeling of being shot, with the pain eventually dissipating after 12+ hours.
Bullet ants live in colonies, numbering in the hundreds, at the base of trees so that they have access to the canopy for foraging. These vicious critters are native to Central and South America.
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Eyelash vipers can be found in tropical rainforests as well as in foothills. They can vary in color, though their coloring is often a vibrant yellow.
The eyelash viper is venomous—a bite releases hemotoxic venom that compromises the cardiovascular and central nervous systems until neurotoxic paralysis takes over, at which point the viper will swallow its prey whole.
Daisy Hernandez is a reporter, editor, and content creator with a background in print and digital media and has written for Sports Illustrated, Popular Mechanics, and Bicycling magazines. She loves to cook, frequently testing out new recipes on friends and family, and is a big fan of prehistoric science, travel, Halloween, trivia, and dogs. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter.
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