39-574: N. africana N. felipei N. frenata N. vison † N. macrodon Neogale (colloquially referred to as the New World weasels ) is a genus of carnivorous , highly active small mammals belonging to the Mustelidae family (which also contains badgers , weasels , martens , otters , and wolverines , among others). Neogale contains four species: the Amazon weasel ( Neogale africana ),
78-412: A long, slender, torso and short legs and ears. They have short fur which varies from reddish to dark brown on the upper body, and is pale orange-tan on the underparts. A stripe of fur the same colour as that on the upper body runs down the centre of the chest and throat. The whiskers are short and the soles of the feet almost hairless. Females have three pairs of teats. Amazon weasels are known to inhabit
117-516: A low-water season (known popularly as summer), and a wet season (known popularly as winter) during which, the rivers flood the adjacent, low-lying forests. The climate of the basin is generally hot and humid . In some areas, however, the summer months (June–September) can bring cold snaps, fueled by Antarctic winds traveling along the adjacent mountain range. The average annual temperature is around 25-degree and 28 degree Celsius with little to no distinction between summer and winter season. Amazonia
156-581: A short video of an individual in Bolivia as part of a citizen science monitoring program. Despite the extremely small number of observations, Amazon weasels are listed as a Least Concern species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because scientists believe they still have a sizable population living in the Amazonian forest . It is not known whether this species can handle anthropogenic disturbances in
195-424: A unique scale-dependent pattern of habitat selection, favoring specific microhabitats characterized by varying vegetation density and prey availability, which is crucial for its survival in tropical and subtropical forests. Two subspecies are recognised: The Amazon weasel is rarely seen and little is known of its habits. They eat rodents and other small mammals , and have been reported to construct burrows in
234-553: Is scarcely populated . There are scattered settlements inland, but most of the population lives in a few larger cities on the banks of the Amazon and other major rivers, such as in Iquitos – Loreto in Peru , Manaus - Amazonas State , and Belém , Pará . In many regions, the forest has been cleared for soya bean plantations and ranching (the most extensive non-forest use of the land); some of
273-410: Is 1.5 million distributed. There are an estimated 100 uncontacted tribal groups. The largest organization fighting for the indigenous peoples in this area is COICA . It is a supra organization encompassing all indigenous rights organizations working in the Amazon basin area, and covers the people living in several countries. The river is the principal path of transportation for people and produce in
312-619: Is land. The splash tetra is famous for laying its eggs on plants above water, keeping them moist by continuously splashing on them, the South American lungfish can survive underground in a mucous cocoon during the dry season, some small rivulid killifish can jump over land between water sources (sometimes moving relatively long distances, even uphill) and may deliberately jump onto land to escape aquatic predators, and an undescribed species of worm-like Phreatobius catfish lives in waterlogged leaf litter near (not in) streams. Some of
351-428: Is located in the countries of Bolivia , Brazil , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Peru , Suriname , and Venezuela , as well as the territory of French Guiana . Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest , also known as Amazonia . With a 5.5 million km (2.1 million sq mi) area of dense tropical forest , it is the largest rainforest in the world. The Amazon River begins in
390-509: Is produced for use in urban areas. Exploitation of bushmeat , particularly deer and turtles is common. Extensive deforestation , particularly in Brazil , is leading to the extinction of known and unknown species, reducing biological diversity and adversely impacting soil, water, and air quality. A final part of the deforestation process is the large-scale production of charcoal for industrial processes such as steel manufacturing. Soils within
429-405: Is quite dense and its variety of animal inhabitants is comparatively high due to the heavy rainfall and the dense and extensive evergreen and coniferous forests . Little sunlight reaches the ground due to the dense roof of canopy by plants. The ground remains dark and damp and only shade-tolerant vegetation will grow here. Orchids and bromeliads exploit trees and other plants to get closer to
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#1732851282982468-445: Is quite simple: frogs must always keep their skin moist since almost half of their respiration is carried out through their skin. The high humidity of the rainforest and frequent rainstorms gives tropical frogs infinitely more freedom to move into the trees and escape the many predators of rainforest waters. The differences between temperate and tropical frogs extend beyond their habitat. About 2500 fish species are known from
507-464: The Amazon basin in north-central Brazil , northern Bolivia and eastern Peru and Ecuador . However, the full extent of their range is unknown, and they probably also inhabit southern Colombia , Venezuela and the Guyanas . The region is covered by tropical rainforest , and, while detailed habitat preferences are unknown, the weasel has mostly been recovered near rivers. The Amazon weasel exhibits
546-561: The Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with its main tributary the Marañón River and Apurimac River in Peru . The highest point in the watershed of the Amazon is the second biggest peak of Yerupajá at 6,635 metres (21,768 ft). The Amazon River Basin occupies the entire central and eastern area of South America, lying to the east of the Andes mountain range and extending from
585-528: The largest strict freshwater fish in the world. The bull shark and common sawfish , which have been recorded far up the Amazon, may reach even greater sizes, but they are euryhaline and often seen in marine waters. In contrast to the giants, there are Amazonian fish from several families that are less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long. The smallest are likely the Leptophilypnion sleeper gobies, which do not surpass 1 cm (0.4 in) and are among
624-559: The long and short-tailed weasels ( N. frenata and N. lontra ), and the American mink ( N. vison ). Native to the Americas , members of the genus can be found as far north as Alaska and as far south as Argentina and Bolivia . Across this distribution, they thrive in a range of habitats, from the deep-freezes of the Alaskan and Canadian boreal forests to the arid desert southwest , and from
663-459: The smallest fish in the world. The Amazon supports very large fisheries, including well-known species of large catfish (such as Brachyplatystoma , which perform long breeding migrations up the Amazon), arapaima and tambaqui , and is also home to many species that are important in the aquarium trade , such as the oscar , discus , angelfish , Corydoras catfish and neon tetra . Although
702-486: The stumps of hollow trees. They have been found from sea level to 1,400 m (4,600 ft), and have been reported to swim in rivers or estuaries , sometimes far from the shore. The Amazon weasel is considered a Data Deficient species because scientists know little about them. Their population is unknown and they have only been registered anywhere 24 times (as of July 2024). An Amazon weasel had never been filmed until 2024, when some coffee producers captured
741-468: The Amazon are Portuguese and Spanish . There are hundreds of native languages still spoken in the Amazon, most of which are critically endangered . Many tribal groups live in the Amazon Basin, often in relative isolation. It is estimated 400 or more tribal groups have lived in the Amazon Basin for hundreds of years with their own culture, language, and lifestyle. Today total population of Amazon basin
780-406: The Amazon basin and it is estimated that more than 1,000 additional undescribed species exist. This is more than any other river basin on Earth, and Amazonia is the center of diversity for Neotropical fishes . About 45% (more than 1,000 species) of the known Amazonian fish species are endemic to the basin. The remarkable species richness can in part be explained by the large differences between
819-644: The Amazon basin, has several other cavefish species. The deeper part of the major Amazonian rivers are always dark and a few species have adaptions similar to cavefish (reduced pigment and eyes). Among these are the knifefish Compsaraia and Orthosternarchus , some Cetopsis whale catfish (especially C. oliveirai ), some Xyliphius and Micromyzon banjo catfish, and the loricariid catfish Loricaria spinulifera , L. pumila , Peckoltia pankimpuju , Panaque bathyphilus and Panaqolus nix (these five also occur in "normal" forms of shallower waters). The perhaps most unusual habitat used by Amazonian fish
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#1732851282982858-455: The Amazon basin. The biodiversity of the Amazon and the sheer number of diverse bird species is given by the number of different bird families that reside in these humid forests. An example of such would be the cotinga family, to which the Guianan cock-of-the-rock belong. Birds such as toucans , and hummingbirds are also found here. Macaws are famous for duck gathering by the hundreds along
897-671: The Guyana Plateau in the north to the Brazilian Plateau in the south. With a length of about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) before it drains into the Atlantic Ocean , it is one of the two longest rivers in the world . A team of scientists has claimed that the Amazon is longer than the Nile , but debate about its exact length continues. The Amazon system transports the largest volume of water of any river system, accounting for about 20% of
936-586: The Late Miocene , between 11.8 - 13.4 million years ago, with all members within the clade being more closely related to one another than to any of the other species in Mustela , and gave it the name Neogale , originally coined by John Edward Gray . The American Society of Mammalogists later accepted this change. Mustela Neogale africana Neogale felipei Neogale frenata Neogale vison † Neogale macrodon There are 5 recent species in
975-526: The clay cliffs of the Amazon River. In the western Amazon hundreds of macaws and other parrots descend to exposed river banks to consume clay on an almost daily basis, the exception being rainy days. The green anaconda inhabits the shallow waters of the Amazon and the emerald tree boa and boa constrictor live in the Amazonian tree tops. Many reptile species are illegally collected and exported for
1014-573: The environment and their numbers may drop significantly in the future due to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest . Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries . The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It
1053-485: The genus Mustela , a 2021 study reclassified it into the genus Neogale along with two other former Mustela species, as well as the two species formerly classified in Neovison . The largest of the three species of South American weasel, Amazon weasels measure 43 to 52 cm (17 to 20 in) in total length, including a tail 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in) long. They have a typical body form for weasels, with
1092-416: The genus, 4 extant and 1 extinct: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Amazon weasel Mustela africana The Amazon weasel ( Neogale africana ), also known as the tropical weasel , is a species of New World weasel native to South America . It was first identified from a museum specimen mislabelled as coming from Africa , hence the scientific name. Originally described in
1131-612: The humid tropics of Central and South America (including the Amazon basin ) to the windswept foothills of the Andes and northern Patagonia . Members of this genus were formerly classified into the genera Mustela and Neovison , but many studies had previously recovered several American species of Mustela , as well as both species within Neovison , to comprise a monophyletic clade distinct from all other members of Mustelinae. A 2021 study found this clade to have diverged from Mustela during
1170-443: The inhabitants harvest wild rubber latex , and Brazilian nuts . This is a form of extractive farms, where the trees are not cut down. These are relatively sustainable operations in contrast to lumbering or agriculture dependent on clearing the rainforest. The people live in thatched houses shaped liked beehives. They also build apartment-like houses called " Maloca ", with a steeply slanting roof. The most widely spoken languages in
1209-442: The international pet trade. Live animals are the fourth largest commodity in the smuggling industry after drugs, diamonds and weapons. More than 1,500 species of amphibians swim and are found in the Amazon. Unlike temperate frogs which are mostly limited to habitats near the water, tropical frogs are most abundant in the trees and relatively few are found near bodies of water on the forest floor . The reason for this occurrence
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1248-586: The major fish groups of the Amazon basin include: More than 90% of the animal species in the Amazon are insects , of which about 40% are beetles (Coleoptera constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life-forms.) Whereas all of Europe has some 321 butterfly species, the Manú National Park in Peru (4000 hectare-survey) has 2300 species, while Tambopata National Reserve (5500 hectare-survey) has at least 1231 species. The Amazon River basin has
1287-482: The most diverse orders in the Amazon are Characiformes (43% of total fish species in the Amazon) and Siluriformes (39%), but other groups with many species include Cichlidae (6%) and Gymnotiformes (3%). In addition to major differences in behavior and ecology, Amazonian fish vary extensively in form and size. The largest, the arapaima and piraiba can reach 3 m (9.8 ft) or more in length and up to 200 kg (440 lb) in weight, making them some of
1326-584: The region are generally shallow and cannot be used for more than a few seasons without the addition of imported fertilizers and chemicals. "Over past 20 years (2021), the Brazilian Amazon emitted 13% more CO 2 than it absorbed". "Amazon biodiversity also plays a critical role as part of global systems, influencing the global carbon cycle and thus climate change , as well as hemispheric hydrological systems, serving as an important anchor for South American climate and rainfall. It also produces 20% oxygen of
1365-615: The regions, with transport ranging from balsa rafts and dugout canoes to hand built wooden river craft and modern steel hulled craft. Seasonal floods excavate and redistribute nutrient-rich silt onto beaches and islands, enabling dry-season riverside agriculture of rice, beans, and corn on the river's shoreline without the addition of fertilizer, with additional slash and burn agriculture on higher floodplains. Fishing provides additional food year-round, and free-range chickens need little or no food beyond what they can forage locally. Charcoal made largely from forest and shoreline deadfall
1404-483: The sunlight. They grow hanging onto the branches or tree trunks with aerial roots , not as parasites but as epiphytes . Species of tropical trees native to the Amazon include Brazil nut , rubber tree and Assai palm . More than 1,400 species of mammals are found in the Amazon, the majority of which are species of bats and rodents . Its larger mammals include the jaguar , ocelot , capybara , puma and South American tapir . About 1,500 bird species inhabit
1443-652: The total water carried to the oceans by rivers. Some of the Amazon rainforests are deforested because of an increase in cattle ranches and soybean fields. The Amazon basin formerly flowed west to the Pacific Ocean until the Andes formed, causing the basin to flow eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean. Politically the basin is divided into Peruvian Amazonia , Amazônia Legal of Brazil, the Amazon natural region of Colombia , Amazonas (Venezuelan state) , and parts of Bolivia and Ecuador . (km ) (km ) Plant growth
1482-454: The true danger they represent often is greatly exaggerated, the Amazon basin is home to several feared fish species such as piranhas (including the famous red-bellied ), electric eel , river stingrays and candiru . Several cavefish species in the genus Phreatobius are found in the Amazon, as is the cave-dwelling Astroblepus pholeter in the far western part of the basin (Andean region). The Tocantins basin, arguably not part of
1521-442: The various parts of the Amazon basin, resulting in many fish species that are endemic to small regions. For example, fauna in clearwater rivers differs from fauna in white and blackwater rivers , fauna in slow moving sections show distinct differences compared to that in rapids , fauna in small streams differ from that in major rivers, and fauna in shallow sections show distinct differences compared to that in deep parts. By far
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