The largest tropical wetland on Earth, spanning parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay in the upper basin of the Paraguay River, where an annual flood pulse submerges vast grasslands for months before receding into a dry season mosaic of lagoons and gallery forest. The seasonal rhythm of flood and drought supports one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife in South America, including the largest population of jaguars on the continent, along with capybaras, giant otters, caimans and the towering jabiru stork. Recognized by UNESCO as the Pantanal Conservation Complex, the wetland has in recent years suffered increasingly severe dry season wildfires linked to drought and land clearing on its margins.
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 range from roughly 150,000 to 195,000 square kilometers depending on the boundary definition used and seasonal flood extent; this figure reflects a commonly cited conservative estimate. Connections
Demonstrates
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hosts
Source Azaras's capuchin (Wikipedia)
Source Black-striped capuchin (Wikipedia)
Source Burrowing owl - Wikipedia
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Cougar (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Green Iguana
Additional Source Pantanal (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Hoary fox (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Green Iguana
Additional Source Pantanal (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Jabiru (Wikipedia)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Marsh deer (Wikipedia)
Source Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Neotropical otter
Source Pampas deer (Wikipedia)
Source Red imported fire ant - Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Toco Toucan
In Biome
The world's largest tropical wetland, a seasonally flooded freshwater grassland and marsh system fed by the Paraguay River and its tributaries.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
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.
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/place/Pantanal, area estimate sentence
The Pantanal is one of the world's largest freshwater wetlands, and the extent of its seasonally dynamic area is estimated to be from 54,000 square miles (140,000 square km) to 81,000 square miles (210,000 square km).
- Biogeographic realm: neotropic (derived from location stated in entity description)
- Demonstrates: Water Cycle
- In Biome: Freshwater
View the Source 2. World Wildlife Fund
Wikipedia: Neotropical otter
Hosts: Neotropical Otter, Wikipedia intro: "and temperate deciduous to evergreen forests, savannas, llanos (of Colombia and Venezuela) and the pantanal (in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay). It prefers to liv..."View the Source Wikipedia: Toco Toucan
WikipediaHosts: Toco Toucan, Wikipedia 'Toco Toucan': especially common in the Brazilian cerrado, gallery forests, and the wetlands of the PantanalView the Source Hoary fox (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Hoary fox, Range, PantanalQuote, Hosts: Hoary fox, Range, Pantanal
However, it can also be found in transition zones, including open habitats in the Pantanal.
Black-striped capuchin (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Black-striped capuchin, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Black-striped capuchin, Distribution and habitat
Specifically, in the Cerrados, Caatingas, and Pantanal of Brazil.
Azaras's capuchin (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Azaras's capuchin, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Azaras's capuchin, Distribution and habitat
It occurs in eastern Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Brazil, at Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso states, in Pantanal.
Marsh deer (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Marsh deer, Habitat, ecosystemQuote, Hosts: Marsh deer, Habitat, ecosystem
notably the Pantanal and Chaco
Pampas deer (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Pampas deer, Lead, ecosystemQuote, Hosts: Pampas deer, Lead, ecosystem
Many of them live on the Pantanal wetlands
Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Mittermeier's Tapajós sakiQuote, Hosts: Mittermeier's Tapajós saki
populations of this species were discovered in the northern Pantanal
Giant otter
Hosts: Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Lead sectionQuote, Hosts: Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Lead section
The giant otter ranges across north-central South America; it lives mostly in and along the Amazon River and in the Pantanal.
Cougar (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Cougar, Social spacing and interactionsQuote, Hosts: Cougar, Social spacing and interactions
Cougars were diurnal in the Brazilian Pantanal, but crepuscular and nocturnal in protected areas in the Cerrado, Caatinga and ecotone biomes.
Burrowing owl - Wikipedia
Hosts: Burrowing Owl, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Burrowing Owl, Distribution and habitat
South of the Amazon, their population seems to again rebound, as they are widely distributed from southern Brazil and the Pantanal down to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Red imported fire ant - Wikipedia
Hosts: Red Imported Fire Ant, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Red Imported Fire Ant, Distribution and habitat
Most known records of the red imported fire ant are around the Pantanal region of Brazil.
Jabiru (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Jabiru, LeadQuote, Hosts: Jabiru, Lead
The only member of the genus of the same name, it is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the eastern Paraguayan Chaco.
Pantanal (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Hyacinth Macaw, Article text
of the Pantanal are also home to the following endangered or threatened species: the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhyncus hyacinthinus) (a bird endangered due to smuggling), the crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus), the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), the South American tapir (Tapirus
Hosts: Green Iguana, Article text
In addition to the caiman, some of the reptiles that inhabit the Pantanal are the yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), the gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin), the red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria), the green iguana (Iguana iguana), and the venomous Pantanal coral snake (Micrurus tricolor).
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