Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon Jungle and River

The Green Anaconda:

The Green Anaconda is the largest snake in the world and makes its home in the Amazon. While fully extended pythons are actually longer, but green anacondas are far heavier. The females, generally larger than males, can reach 550 pounds and grow over 29 feet long and reach 12 inches in width. They are not venomous but instead use their immense muscular power to constrict and suffocate their prey, which includes capybara, deer, caiman, and even jaguars. Preferring shallower waters that allow them to stealthily sneak up on their prey, they tend to live in offshoots of the Amazon rather than the river itself

Matamata Turtle:   
                    
The Matamata Turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles. An adult age turtle could reach a shell size of 18 inches. The Matamata lives on the north part of South America, around Amazon river. They spend most of the time on the water walking around the bottom. They actually breath thanks to their long necks that extend the snout tip over the surface of the water. Matamatas prefer calm and slow moving waters. Matamatas are well known for looking their food during the night and their diet consists of fish, amphibians, freshwater crabs, possibly birds, and small mammals that get into the water. The Matamata hunting technique is unique. While opening their mouth and expanding their throat, the Matamata extends the head up and catch their prey. These movements, made at the same time, create a suction action that draws the prey to their long and expanded throat; the prey is swallowed and the water is expelled out.

Blue Poison Dart Frog:

The Blue Poison Dart Frog is easily recognized by their blue color and are covered with  black spots, especially on the head and back. As their name suggests, poison dart frogs can release toxins from the skin that are distasteful and potentially lethal to would-be predators. Blue poison dart frogs are active during the day and can be found hiding among boulders and debris near streams and among leaf litter on the forest floor; however, they lack toe webbing and are poor swimmers, so they are not found in the water. 
This frogs diet consists of mites, termites, tiny beetles and any other small insect it may find among the leaf litter. An adult frog has a body about 2 inches long and weighs about 0.3 ounces.  Adult dart frogs have few predators, but the tadpoles, which contain no toxins, often fall prey to other amphibians and reptiles. 

Harlequin Frog:                          

The Harlequin frogs are really toads but in frog form. They have a smooth skin and lack the toad-like warty appearance so they’re more similar to frogs. Usually there is no scientific difference between what we know as frogs and toads. The Harlequin frog is active during the day, hunting the forest floor for small insects and other invertebrates. They have a funny behavior when disturbed by a predator and rock on their bellies holding their arms and legs out in a sky diving pose. While they rock, they show off their bright orange colored palms.

Fish and Mammals of the Amazonian River

Giant Otter:

The Giant Otter are very large otters and the longest examples of the weasel family. The male otters grow up to six feet. Their diet mostly consists of fish and crabs, which they hunt in family groups of three to eight members. Don’t be fooled by their cute looks, they are more than a match for the other animals on this list, with groups of otters having been spotted killing and eating an anaconda. They hold their own against caiman as well. One family was seen devouring a five foot caiman, which took them about 45 minutes. They are an endangered species, mainly due to human intervention. They are among the most capable predators in the Amazon rain forest, hence their local name of "river wolves".
  

Black Caiman:

                                                                              The Black Caiman is basically an alligator on steroids. They can grow up to twenty feet long, with bigger, heavier skulls than Nile crocodiles, and are the top predators in the Amazonian waters. That means they are basically the kings of the river and can eat nearly anything they can get their teeth into, including piranhas, monkeys, perch, deer, and anacondas. Oh, and yes, they totally attack humans. In 2010, a biologist named Deise Nishimura was attacked by a caiman while cleaning something on her houseboat, and while she managed to fight it off, it bit off her leg. This particular caiman had been living under her houseboat for eight months, waiting for the chance to strike.

Red-Bellied Piranha:

                                                   
The Red-Bellied Piranhas are so widely feared that they have inspired a number of Hollywood movies. Red-bellied piranhas are actually primarily scavengers. That’s not to say they won’t attack healthy creatures. Red-Bellied Piranhas can grow to be over 12 inches long and swim around in large groups. They tend to be more than a match for most animals. Like all piranhas, red-bellies have incredibly sharp teeth, one row on each of their powerful upper and lower jaws. These teeth are interlocking, which makes them perfect for tearing the flesh of their prey. Their fearsome reputation mainly comes from sights of their “feeding frenzies,” where groups of piranhas will congregate on their unlucky prey and strip it to the bone within minutes. These attacks are rare and are usually the result of starvation or provocation.

Pink River Dolphin:

The Pink River Dolphins are not the same dolphins that you would see in the ocean; they have special adaptations to their habitat. In fact, river dolphins are only distantly related to sea dolphins. These friendly, sensitive, mammals with a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans, have lived in harmony with the people of the Amazon, but now, face extinction. What was considered to be one of the least threatened species of dolphins 20 years ago, has now become one of the most endangered species due to the destruction of the South American tropical rainforest. No one knows the actual number of that live in the Amazon basin, but according to the research and studies the number of pink dolphins from 18 years ago has risen from eight pink dolphins on the Yarapa River to 35 to 45.