Wildlife of Brazil
Coordinates: 15°36′40″S 56°03′22″W / 15.611120°S 56.056012°W
The wildlife of Brazil comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants in the South American country. Home to 60% of the Amazon Rainforest, which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all species in the world,Brazil is considered to have the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet. It has the most known species of plants (55,000), freshwater fish (3000) and mammals (over 689). It also ranks third on the list of countries with the most number of bird species (1832) and second with the most reptile species (744). The number of fungal species is unknown, but is large. Approximately two-thirds of all species worldwide are found in tropical areas, often coinciding with developing countries such as Brazil. Brazil is second only to Indonesia as the country with the most endemic species.,
In the animal kingdom, there is general consensus that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any country in the world. This high diversity of fauna can be explained in part by the sheer size of Brazil and the great variation in ecosystems such as Amazon Rainforest, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. The numbers published about Brazil's fauna diversity vary from source to source, as taxonomists sometimes disagree about species classifications, and information can be incomplete or out-of-date. Also, new species continue to be discovered and some species go extinct in the wild. Brazil has the highest diversity of primates (77 species) and freshwater fish (over 3000 species) of any country in the world. It also claims the highest number of mammals with 524 species, the second highest number of amphibians with 517 species and butterflies with 3,150 species, the third highest number of birds with 1,622 species, and fifth number of reptiles with 468 species. There is a high number of endangered species, many of which live in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest or the Amazon Rainforest.
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