Located in the northern part of South America, the Amazon River is the world's largest flowing river, with the widest basin and the largest number of tributaries. Its basin covers an area of 7.05 million square kilometres, which is larger than the land area of two Indias. It is estimated that the Amazon and its tributaries may be home to more than 3,000 freshwater fish species, almost three times more than all freshwater fish species in North America.
In addition, the Amazon rainforest is home to 2.5 million species of insects, tens of thousands of plant species, and more than 2,000 species of birds and mammals. However, these staggering numbers are only scratching the surface, and the dangers of the Amazon River go far beyond that. Today we're taking a look at 10 of the most dangerous deadly creatures in the Amazon River, which are far more terrifying than you think.
10th place: Giant otter.
In the Amazon Basin, a place surrounded by jungle and mystery, is home to a terrifying aquatic giant – the South American giant otter, commonly known as the water flathead. Despite the fact that they look like large beavers, they are actually the freshwater kings at the top of the food chain in the Amazon basin. The South American otter is strong and muscular, and can exceed 18 meters, and the weight is as high as 65 pounds. Despite their cute appearance, they are impulsive and irritable, territorial, and aggressive, attacking any creature that enters their territory.
The reason why the giant otter chose to live in the Amazon is because of the sparsely populated area and crisscrossed by underground rivers, which is a paradise for the giant otter who loves to build a nest. In their daily lives, the otter feeds on larger fish and also hunts snakes or crocodiles. Not only are the South American otters not afraid of large prey, but they will also adopt tactics of attrition, teasing the crocodile to exhaust its physical strength and then easily gnaw on the crocodile's big tail.
This is also the reason why there are so many bald-tailed crocodiles in South America. However, the giant otter also has a natural predator, the jaguar. The jaguar is muscular, fast and good at hiding, and often sneaks up on lone giant otters in the dark. But don't forget, giant otters are not soft persimmons, they live in groups, they help each other, and sometimes it is not impossible to beat the jaguar.
9th place: Black caiman.
It's like a doping crocodile that rules the Amazon rainforest with an iron fist. This ferocious creature can be up to 52 meters, weighing 450 kilograms, it is intimidating. Unlike regular crocodiles, black caimans are particularly capable of targeting their prey in the dark, which, combined with a strong bite, is enough to easily break a turtle's shell. The black caiman has become a symbol of terror in the Amazon River, and according to statistics, there have been more than 80 reports of black caiman attacks on humans in the Amazon rainforest in the past 20 years, most of which have been fatal. This allows the survivors to escape with severe injuries and a terrifying experience that will last a lifetime.
One of the most famous was the incident in which a black caiman attacked a biologist. In order to better observe the creatures of the Amazon river, the biologist set up an observation point in a houseboat that was not high above the water. However, on one outing, he was attacked by a black caiman. The caiman is said to have been in ambush here for about eight months for the attack. Although in the end the biologists managed to escape, they still lost a leg. However, this bravery and ferocity is not only found in adult black caimans, who already know how to turn piranhas, the river's most ferocious fish, into minced meat in their early years.
The black caiman hides in the darkness of the night, sneaking up on unsuspecting prey and then suddenly bites them. In the Amazon Basin, a biodiverse place, the black caiman is undoubtedly one of the shining stars. Their presence is not just a member of the ecosystem, but is seen as a symbol of terror in the Amazon River.
Eighth place: Giant centipede.
Also known as a hundred feet. With poisonous snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads, etc., it is known as the five poisons. Common centipedes are usually small, and even if they occasionally encounter large ones, they are no more than a finger long. However, the Amazon giant centipede is one of the largest centipedes in the world, with an average length of up to 30 centimeters. Despite being in the Amazon rainforest, a place teeming with giant creatures, its size is surprising.
The reason why the giant centipede can occupy a place in the rivers and lakes is inseparable from its powerful toxicity. They are able to paralyze their prey with just one attack. Similar to many spiders, centipedes like to lurk in burrows. However, their favorite prey, bats, also like to inhabit caves. As a trained stealthy hunter, giant centipedes will climb the walls and ceilings of caves to attack these bats.
Their first pair of legs evolved into venomous claws that resemble submarines, which can easily deliver a fatal blow to their prey. As a result, giant centipedes tend to be able to easily capture their prey without fighting. After attacking humans or animals, they will quickly release toxins, and the bite site can cause redness, swelling and burning pain, and the whole body may have symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, rapid pulse and convulsions, and in severe cases, it may even lead to death.
Seventh place: Tyrant Leech.
The Amazon basin is not only home to a variety of giant reptiles and ferocious fish, but also a creepy creature, the tyrant leech. This vampire is 7 centimeters long and has huge teeth. Its body structure is very special, there are a total of 34 stages, each stage has its own brain, which means that each giant leech has 34 brains, which is very terrifying.
The giant leech's powerful suction cup is located at the thicker end, while the head is at the narrower tip. While eating, the muscles of the giant leech move in waves, helping to pump the absorbed blood to the digestive system, which is located in the head. Typically, giant leeches have two to three rows of tiny teeth that are used to suck the blood of their prey. In the course of their evolution, they have perfected their ambush skills and will hunt any suitable prey that passes by.
Once the giant leech spots a moving object, it uses one of its suction cups to swim towards the target. When attaching to the host, they create a wide Y-shaped hole with their mouths and inject anticoagulant into the incision, making them virtually impossible to remove. In the Amazon Basin, there have been numerous killings of tyrants on water quality. In addition to these terrible properties, the tyrant leech actually boasts a fairly high nutritional value, with an amino acid content of up to 62%, giving it a protein content of 233%, which is 2 of normal food7 times. In particular, ingredients such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine, and leucine play an important role in health care.
Sixth place: Red-bellied piranha.
The red-bellied piranha is a ferocious fish in the Amazon River, although it is generally only about 25 centimeters in length and does not exceed 30 centimeters in length. Their teeth are sharp, and their appetites never seem to be satisfied. The most terrifying thing is that they often come out in groups, usually hundreds or even thousands, and once they hunt, the scene will be very terrifying, like marching ants in water.
Any creature that is spotted by a red-bellied piranha will disappear from this world in an instant. It is said that in the Amazon River basin, when herders graze their cattle, if they encounter a river with piranhas, they usually drive a sick cow into the river, divert the piranhas from the river, and then drive the cattle across the river quickly.
And the old cow, as a victim, will be bitten into a pair of white bones by the ** piranha school in less than 10 minutes. The reason why red-bellied piranhas like to act in groups is because people like crocodiles, pufferfish, turtles, and other large fish like to eat piranha juveniles. Living in groups allows the most vulnerable members to be protected at the center of the group to ensure the best chance of survival. The diet of red-bellied piranhas typically includes insects, fish, snails, worms, seeds, and a variety of plants.
They only hunt when large mammals and birds are thrown into the water after they die. Red-bellied piranhas like to act in groups because people like crocodiles, pufferfish, turtles and other large fish are so fond of eating piranha juveniles. Living in groups allows the most vulnerable members to be protected at the center of the group to ensure the best chance of survival.
5th place: Payara.
Payara, also known as vampire fish, is a ferocious fish that lives in the Amazon basin of South America. Although they don't suck the blood of their prey, when you see their two 15-centimeter-long fangs protruding from their jaws, it's destined to be a face that only their mothers would love. The main function of these two tusks is to pierce the prey. Payara fish can reach a body length of more than one meter and weigh more than 30 catties. Their silver flanks are designed for strength and speed, and their fan-shaped tail fins help them swim through the rapids of the Amazon River.
They can be found at the bottom of some streams, dams, waterfalls, and rapids. Payara is known for being highly aggressive and brutal in nature. They are the only fish that dare to chase piranhas in the Amazon and swallow them, without fear of being besieged by schools of piranhas. For some Payara, piranhas can even be counted as their staple food. Since piranhas prefer to attack in groups, while Payara fish usually act alone, they may be slightly less dangerous to humans than piranhas.
4th place: Electric eel.
Electric eels are known as high-voltage lines in water and live mainly in the Amazon River Basin. They are nocturnal animals, and due to their extremely poor eyesight, electric eels emit weak electrical signals that help them navigate to their mates and food. Once the prey is spotted, the electric eel will release a stronger electric shock, leaving the prey unconscious. If a group of electric eels hunt cooperatively, it is completely disastrous for the fish, because an adult electric eel can output up to 300-800 volts at a time, and such a discharge can cause the water surface to boil instantly, so that the fish lose the ability to escape.
Eventually, they are easily preyed upon by swarms of electric eels. The electrical discharge organs of the electric eel are on both sides of the body, and most of the body or vital organs are enclosed by highly insulating structures, which is a completely conductive insulator. The electric eel's ability to discharge electricity inspired Italian physicist Alessandrofoda to design the world's first synthetic battery in 1799. Although electric eels appear invincible in the water, their biggest natural predators are humans at the moment.
People who catch electric eels know that although electric eels have a strong discharge ability, they cannot be discharged indefinitely and need to recover after a period of rest. Therefore, the fishermen will drive the cattle and horses down the river first, provoking the electric eels to generate electricity. When the electric eel is exhausted after the electric discharge, it will be easily caught. As a result of this tried and tested catch, electric eels have become a well-known food fish in their native areas.
3rd place: Amazon giant pit viper.
It is one of the largest and most venomous venomous snakes on the American continent. The longest Amazonian giant pit body ever discovered is 37 meters. They have a distinctive appearance, most of which are brown, yellow or pink, with dark brown or black diamond-shaped markings on their backs, most notably a black stripe between the eyes and the jaw.
When hunting, they use their forked tongues to collect odors from the air, leaves, and soil, and transmit the collected scents to the nasal apparatus on their heads for analysis, from which they look for the scent of their prey. Once they smell their prey, they will remain in this position, possibly for several days or even weeks.
Also known as the silent rattlesnake, the Amazon giant pit wags its tail when faced with danger, similar to a rattlesnake, which uses its tail to constantly slap leaves on the ground despite not being able to make a sound. They also exhibit refractive properties, and sometimes when tourists or indigenous people light bonfires, nearby Amazonian giant pits are hunting, and they crawl in the direction of the fire. Therefore, when encountering Amazonian giant pit pit pit pit at night, it is best to extinguish the campfire immediately so that they are not invited.
The Amazonian pit pit is not afraid of humans and has a length of up to 35 cm fangs, venom strong. Since few people encounter this highly venomous snake in the wild, no antivenom against its venom has been developed, which increases its lethality. The amount of detoxification can reach more than 400 milligrams at a time, and its venom causes extensive necrosis of body tissues, severe damage to limbs, organ damage caused by hemorrhage, and eventually shock. There have been reports of several deaths from Amazonian giant pit bites, with the shortest survival time being only about 45 minutes, and none of the injured were spared.
2nd place: Giant ray.
Legend has it that the giant ray is a sea monster with a giant knife on its head and is capable of splitting giant fish or sea boats in half. Despite the exaggeration, the giant rays have survived in the sea for an extraordinary amount of time. Dating back more than 56 million years to the Cretaceous period, it survived a devastating catastrophe.
Giant rays were once widely distributed in tropical and shallow waters, including the 1,340-kilometre watershed of the Amazon and the Nicaraguan freshwater lakes. This ancient marine organism is usually 54-7.Between 6 meters, the largest giant rays can even reach up to 9 meters long and weigh more than 500 kilograms.
The giant ray's signature feature is the long serrations of the longboard covered with sharp triangular rulers, which can reach up to two meters in length and more than 30 centimeters in width. They lie on their stomachs during the day to rest and come out at night to hunt. Giant rays are extremely fast when hunting, using their serrations to stun or cut off fish or crustaceans before eating them. In addition to attacking prey, the giant ray's saw is also lined with organs that can sense weak electrical signals to detect the electromagnetic field of hidden organisms, and use this organ to find the location of other female giant rays during the breeding season.
However, giant rays are currently facing an existential threat because almost every part of it is useful to humans. Its flesh is edible, fins can be used to make shark fins, fish skins can be made into leather and scabbards, livers can be refined from cod liver oil, and even serrations can be made into expensive works of art.
Currently, all species of giant rays have completely disappeared from Europe, and the number of giant rays in the United States has declined by 99%. Giant rays survive only in some waters of Florida. Of the 90 countries where giant rays have been found, 55 have become locally extinct. Although the giant ray is depicted as a ferocious sea monster, it is not so scary for humans with modern technological means. On the contrary, because of its rare appearance, it has become the top plaything of the rich of human beings.
Here, we call for the understanding of giant rays to be respectful and protected, not fearful and overhunted. It is hoped that human beings can coexist in harmony with this ancient sea creature and jointly protect every life on the earth.
1st place: toothpick fish.
The toothpick fish is one of the most notorious vampire demons in the Amazon basin. It has an ordinary appearance, a small size, and looks like a snack small fish that we eat every day, but it belongs to one of the catiformes hairy-nosed catfish shells and is a relative of the large catfish in the river.
If you look at the gills of the toothpick fish, you can see that they are covered with tiny barbs. When a large fish passes by, the toothpick fish will quickly approach, quickly burrow into the gills while the big fish is breathing, and use the barbs on its body to fix it to the gills and start sucking blood. This unique way of sucking blood makes the toothpick fish the only fish on the planet that feeds on blood, hence the name vampire demon.
In the Amazon, legends about toothpick fish are widely circulated, the most famous of which is that it burrows into the male *** officer to suck blood. It is said that if people urinate in the river, the toothpick fish will swim up the urine stream and burrow into the body, causing severe pain. While these legends may sound creepy, in other regions such as Asia, the chances of seeing toothpick fish are very small.
Hotspot Engine Project Over time, toothpick fish have been isolated from human living areas. However, in some remote primeval jungle areas, legends about this vampire demon still circulate.