Animals from the Brazilian Cerrado

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 23 January 2021
Update Date: 22 December 2024
Anonim
The Cerrado: Brazil’s Unique Biome
Video: The Cerrado: Brazil’s Unique Biome

Content

The Cerrado is one of the regions of the planet that encompasses the greatest biodiversity of fauna and flora in the world. It is estimated that about 10 to 15% of the world's species are found in Brazilian territory.

In this PeritoAnimal article, we will present a list of some of the mainanimals from the Brazilian Cerrado. If you are curious to learn more about Brazil's wildlife, be sure to read this article.

What is the Cerrado and where is it located?

"Cerrado" means "closed" in Spanish, a designation given by the appearance of the dense and numerous vegetation that it presents. The Cerrado is a type of tropical savanna that covers about 25% of the central Brazilian territory, in which more than 6,000 plant species live. Due to its central location, it is influenced by the Amazon and Atlantic forest biomes, being known for its biological richness.


Unfortunately, due to human actions and the consequences of these actions, the landscape and territory of the Cerrado has been increasingly fragmented and destroyed. The destruction of habitats for road construction, the overexploitation of natural resources, expansion of agricultural territory and poaching have led to the extinction of countless species and the decay of ecosystems.

In the following topics we will talk about some of the animals in the Cerrado biome and also about the endangered animals in the Cerrado.

Cerrado invertebrate animals

Although it is very common to associate the animals that live in the Cerrado to large animals, invertebrates (which include butterflies, bees, ants, spiders, etc.) are a very important group in the Cerrado biome and are often ignored. In addition, insects have important functions in the ecosystem, such as:


  • Accelerate the process and decomposition of plant material;
  • They reuse nutrients;
  • They serve as a food source for a large percentage of animals;
  • They pollinate many plants, contributing to the fertilization of flowers and fruit production.

Never forget that every living thing is important to the cycle. Even the lack of the smallest small animal can affect the entire ecosystem and cause irreversible imbalances.

Cerrado amphibian animals

The group of animals that live in the Cerrado classified as amphibians are:

  • Frogs;
  • Toads;
  • Tree frogs.

They are very sensitive to physical and chemical changes in the water where they live and, therefore, of the approximately 150 species that exist in the Cerrado, 52 are seriously threatened with extinction.


Reptile animals from the Cerrado

Among the animals of the Cerrado are reptiles and, the best known are:

Yellow-throated Alligator (caiman latirostris)

Alligators play an important role, especially in regulating the amount of piranhas that exist in aquatic regions. The decrease in the number of alligators or even their extinction can trigger an increase in the population of piranhas, which can lead to the extinction of other fish species and even attacks on humans.

The Alligator-of-papo-amarelo can reach 2 meters in length and takes this designation due to the characteristic yellow color that acquires in the mating season, when it is ready to breed. Its snout is wide and short allowing it to feed on small small ones, molluscs, crustaceans and reptiles.

Teyu (salvator merianae)

This Cerrado animal looks like a large lizard with a stout body striped in alternating black and white. It can measure up to 1.4m in length and weigh up to 5kg.

Other reptiles from the Brazilian Cerrado:

  • Ipê lizard (Tropidurus guarani);
  • Iguana (Iguana iguana);
  • Boa Constrictor (Goodconstrictor);
  • Turtle of the Amazon (Podocnemisexpands);
  • Tracaja (Podocnemis unifilis).

Brazilian Cerrado fish

The most common fish in the Cerrado are:

Piracanbuja (Brycon orbignyanus)

Freshwater fish that live along riverbanks.

betray (Hoplias Malabaricus)

Freshwater fish that live in standing water regions.

Other fish from the Brazilian Cerrado:

  • Puffer fish (Colomesus tocantinensis);
  • Pirapitinga (Brycon nattereri);
  • Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas).

Cerrado mammal animals

To continue our list of animals from the Cerrado, the time has come for the list of mammals from the Brazilian Cerrado. Among them, the best known are:

Jaguar (panthera onca)

Also known as jaguar, it is the third largest feline in the world. He is an excellent swimmer and lives in areas close to rivers and lakes. Its bite power is so strong that it can shatter skulls with just one bite.

It is threatened with extinction due to the consequences of human action (poaching, habitat destruction, over exploitation of resources, etc.).

Ocelot (Leopardus sparrow)

Also known as wildcat, it is more commonly found in the Atlantic Forest. It is similar to the jaguar, however it is much smaller (25 to 40 cm).

Margay (Leopardus wiedii)

Native to Central and South America, it is found in several places, in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. Similar to the Ocelot, but smaller.

Guara wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

Orange fur, long legs and large ears make this wolf a very characteristic species.

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world, are also excellent swimmers and usually live in groups of 40 or more animals.

Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

The well-known anteater has a thick, grayish-brown coat with a diagonal black band with white edges. Its long snout and large claws are great for digging and ingesting, through its long tongue, ants and termites. It can ingest 30,000 ants daily.

Tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Also known as tapir, it has a flexible trunk (proboscis) and a strong bearing with short limbs, resembling a pig. Their diet includes roots, fruits, leaves from trees and shrubs.

Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

The otters, known as the jaguars and the otters are carnivorous mammals that feed on fish, small amphibians, mammals and birds. The otters are more social and live in large groups, however they are vulnerable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Other mammals:

  • Howler monkey (alouatta caraya);
  • Bush dog (Cerdocyonthou);
  • Skunk (Didelphis albiventris);
  • haystack cat (Leopardus colocolo);
  • Capuchin Monkey (Sapajus cay);
  • bush deer (american maze);
  • Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus).

To learn more about otters, check out our YouTube video:

Image:Reproduction/Wikipedia - Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

Birds of the Brazilian Cerrado

To finish our list of typical animals of the Cerrado we present the most popular birds:

seriema (cariamacrest)

The Seriema (Cariama cristata) has long legs and a feathery tail and crest. It feeds on worms, insects and small rodents.

Galito (tricolor aletrutus)

It inhabits the Cerrado near swamps and wetlands. It measures about 20 cm long (tail included) and due to deforestation it is threatened with extinction.

little soldier (Galeata Antilophia)

Known for its exuberant colors and characteristics, this black bird with a red crest can be found in several regions of Brazil.

Other birds:

  • Bobo (Nystalus chacuru);
  • Gavião-carijó (rupornis magnirostris);
  • Purple-billed Teal (Oxyura dominica);
  • Merganser duck (Mergus octosetaceus);
  • Country Woodpecker (Camprestris Colaps);

These are some of the species of animals that live in the Cerrado, we cannot forget all the other reptiles, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and insects that were not mentioned here but that constitute the cerrado biome, also the other biomes of Brazil and are essential to the ecosystem.

If you want to read more articles similar to Animals from the Brazilian Cerrado, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.