Satellite view of the Juruá-Purus moist forests, Brazil   South America: Amazon Basin, northwestern Brazil Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   93,700 square miles (242,600 square kilometers) -- about the size of Oregon Relatively Stable/Intact

· A Low Profile
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

A Low Profile

This moist forest ecoregion lies low in the Amazon Basin, between the Solimões (Amazon) and Purus rivers. These forests have very high plant diversity. The tree family Sapotaceae, for example, has the highest diversity in the Amazon Basin, with more than 60 species occurring in this ecoregion. The animal life here is also diverse, with a high occurrence of endemic species. More than 170 species of mammals and over 550 species of birds live here.

Special Features

On average, this hot, humid ecoregion receives 98 inches (2,500 mm) of precipitation per year, with some areas getting as much as 138 inches (3,500 mm). Rivers and streams flood regularly. Elevations in this terrain range between 65 and 195 feet (20 and 60 m) above sea level. These evergreen tropical rainforests contain high canopies reaching up to 98 feet (30 m), with some trees stretching to 147 feet (45 m) overhead. The forest structure is quite uniform throughout the ecoregion, although small patches of forest have a more open canopy and thinner understory.

	With a total length of 14 to 18 inches (360 to 450 mm), the silky (or pygmy) anteater is the smallest of the anteaters. This species is arboreal, staying in the trees and rarely descending to the ground.

Wild Side

Through a thick mist and still morning air, mantled howler monkeys let out eerie howls to establish their locations and home ranges. These monkeys feed mostly on fresh leaves and shoots, which requires a lot of energy to digest, and make howlers rather lethargic. Elsewhere, a yellow-ridged toucan perches atop an emergent Virola tree, its croaking calls attracting a curious female to its high canopy roost. In an orchid-laden tangle of vines, several hummingbirds, including the glittering-throated emerald and black-eared fairy, flit from flower to flower. A small silky anteater crawls back into its tree as the first rays of morning dry its moist fur. Along open streams, morpho butterflies display their brilliant blue wings. A large nocturnal curassow, a stocky rufous-colored bird with a white-tipped tail, scratches at the leaf litter, looking for a few more insects before flying into the canopy to sleep for the day.

Cause for Concern

Much of this ecoregion remains intact, mostly because no roads traverse the forests and open them to hunting and colonization. Plans to continue the trans-Amazon highway, however, could result in extensive logging and hunting. The expansion of small-scale cattle ranching and agriculture along the abundant river communities also threatens the forest environment.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.