The second largest contiguous tropical rainforest on Earth after the Amazon, spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, drained by the Congo River and its tributaries. Often called the lung of Africa, the forest absorbs vast quantities of atmospheric carbon and shelters extraordinary biodiversity, including forest elephants, bonobos found nowhere else on Earth, lowland and mountain gorillas, and the elusive okapi. Its remoteness has left large stretches less studied and less disturbed than the Amazon, though logging, mining and agricultural expansion are advancing steadily into previously intact forest.
Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm Protected StatusLarge-scale biome/ecoregion spanning many jurisdictions: it contains formally protected reserves and parks alongside unprotected land, so no single stronger category applies to the region as a whole. Disputed
Area (sq km)Estimates for Congo Basin rainforest extent range from roughly 1.78 to 2 million square kilometers depending on methodology and ongoing deforestation; this figure reflects a commonly cited approximate extent. Connections
Demonstrates
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hosts
Source Alexander's kusimanse (Wikipedia)
Source Allen's swamp monkey (Wikipedia)
Source Angola colobus (Wikipedia)
Source Aquatic genet (Wikipedia)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Bouvier's red colobus (Wikipedia)
Source Dryas monkey (Wikipedia)
Source Giant forest genet (Wikipedia)
Source Giant forest hog (Wikipedia)
Source Golden-bellied mangabey (Wikipedia)
Source Hamlyn's monkey (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Cercopithecus lomamiensis
Source L'Hoest's monkey (Wikipedia)
Source Long-nosed mongoose (Wikipedia)
Source Red river hog (Wikipedia)
Source Thollon's red colobus (Wikipedia)
Source World Wildlife Fund
In Biome
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Discusses
Also in Geography Atlas: which this subject discusses.
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/place/Congo-Basin, opening definition sentence
Congo basin, basin of the Congo River, lying astride the Equator in west-central Africa. It is the world's second largest river basin (next to that of the Amazon), comprising an area of more than 1.3 million square miles (3.4 million square km).
- Biogeographic realm: afrotropic (derived from location stated in entity description)
- Demonstrates: Carbon Cycle
- In Biome: Tropical Rainforest
View the Source 2. World Wildlife Fund
L'Hoest's monkey (Wikipedia)
Hosts: L'Hoest's monkey, LeadQuote, Hosts: L'Hoest's monkey, Lead
is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo Basin
Dryas monkey (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Dryas monkey, LeadQuote, Hosts: Dryas monkey, Lead
is a little-known species of Old World monkey found only in the Congo Basin
Angola colobus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Angola colobus, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Angola colobus, Distribution and habitat
It lives in most of the Congo Basin
Golden-bellied mangabey (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Golden-bellied mangabey, LeadQuote, Hosts: Golden-bellied mangabey, Lead
forests south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bouvier's red colobus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Bouvier's red colobus, DescriptionQuote, Hosts: Bouvier's red colobus, Description
lives in swampy forests surrounding the Congo River
Thollon's red colobus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Thollon's red colobus, LeadQuote, Hosts: Thollon's red colobus, Lead
It is found south of Congo River and west of Lomami River
Hamlyn's monkey (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Hamlyn's monkey, LeadQuote, Hosts: Hamlyn's monkey, Lead
from the Congo River to the Kabale Forest
Long-nosed mongoose (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Long-nosed mongoose, LeadQuote, Hosts: Long-nosed mongoose, Lead
The long-nosed mongoose (Xenogale naso) is a mongoose native to Central African wetlands and rainforests.
Alexander's kusimanse (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Alexander's kusimanse, LeadQuote, Hosts: Alexander's kusimanse, Lead
Alexander's kusimanse (Crossarchus alexandri) is a mongoose species native to Central African rainforests.
Aquatic genet (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Aquatic genet, DistributionQuote, Hosts: Aquatic genet, Distribution
limited to closed evergreen lowland and submontane forests in the Congo Basin
Giant forest genet (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Giant forest genet, LeadQuote, Hosts: Giant forest genet, Lead
is a genet species endemic to the Congo Basin
Giant forest hog (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Giant forest hog, DistributionQuote, Hosts: Giant forest hog, Distribution
Giant forest hogs occur in west and central Africa, where they are largely restricted to the Guinean and Congolese forests.
Red river hog (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Red river hog, LeadQuote, Hosts: Red river hog, Lead
with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests
Allen's swamp monkey (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Allen's Swamp Monkey, article text (ecosystem), EntityId 363418, target E16323Quote, Hosts: Allen's Swamp Monkey, article text (ecosystem), EntityId 363418, target E16323
Allen's swamp monkey (Allenopithecus nigroviridis) is a species of Old World monkey endemic to swamps and riparian forests in the central Congo Basin.
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Cercopithecus lomamiensis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Lesula, Geographic RangeQuote, Hosts: Lesula, Geographic Range
inhabit a limited interfluvial range of about 17,000 km2 in the eastern central basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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