The giant water lily was discovered in 1801 in the Amazon River and named for Queen Victoria. Its shiny green leaves can grow to be 2 meters (7 feet) in diameter and can support the weight of a small adult. The stems, flower buds, and undersides of the leaves are covered with sharp spines for protection. Their huge 12” flowers open as pure white blooms in the evening and disperse a sweet-smelling aroma like pineapple. This attracts scarab beetles that burrow into the flower between the petals, delivering pollen from a previous visit to another giant water lily bloom. As the flower closes the next morning, the beetles are trapped inside, getting dusted with pollen as they struggle to escape. At dusk, the flower opens for a second time and allows the pollen-covered beetles to escape to find another white flower. Once pollinated the flowers turn purple, no longer attractive to scarabs. Victoria grow in the warm waters of lakes and rivers throughout the Amazon River basin of South America.

This is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao and found throughout the Amazon Basin. It is cultivated in the north of Brazil. The white pulp of the cupuaçu fruit is fragrant, and unlike cacao does not contain caffeine. As a result, Cupuaçu can replace cocoa in many foods, especially for children, such as chocolate milk. It is frequently used in desserts, juices and sweets. Cupuaçu seeds can be made into a product which looks and tastes just like chocolate but is cheaper and more resistant to heat.

Cupuaçu trees usually range from 5 to 15 meters (16 to 50 feet) in height, though some can reach 20 meters (65 feet). They have brown bark. Their leaves are 25–35 cm (10–14 in) long and 6–10 cm (2–4 in) across, with 9 or 10 pairs of veins. As they mature, their leaves change from pink-tinted to green, and eventually begin bearing fruit. Cupuaçu fruits are oblong, brown, and fuzzy, 20 cm (8 in) long, 1–2 kg (2–4 lb) in weight, and covered with a thick (4–7 mm), hard shell.

The pink dolphin or boto as it is known in Brazil is the largest of the world’s five freshwater dolphin species and can only be found in the Amazon and Orinoco River systems. The pink dolphin can weigh up to 180 kg (400 lb) and measure up to 2.6 m (8.5 feet) and can be identified by its domed forehead ending in a long snout, a hump instead of a dorsal fin and its distinctive pink color. Most adult botos are pink, although some have a darker back or are partially gray. Pink dolphins usually hunt/feed alone during the high water season when their prey is spread out. At other times, they are found in small "family" groups that tend to gather at river confluences where many pink dolphins cooperatively herd and bank fish, often together with grey dolphins. It relies on echolocation to find prey in the muddy rivers that it inhabits. Calves can be born between July and September.

These monkeys found in the Amazon basin are known for the very loud roaring sound the males make. One of the loudest sounds made by any animal, the call can travel over 1.6km (1 mile). Howling occurs in the mornings and each time the troop moves to a new feeding site, allowing neighboring troops to know where they are and thus avoiding conflict. Howler monkeys have a prehensile tail and medium length orange-brown fur. Howler monkeys usually live in groups of 4-11 individuals, with one or more males. They are active in the daytime, usually preferring the lower to middle canopy of the forest, and descending to the under story and ground to feed. Over half their waking hours are spent resting, saving energy on their low-sugar diet. There is no defended territory, and neighboring troops range over overlapping areas. Their diet consists of leaves and fruit and females have one young every 1-2 years.

The sloth is a slow-moving, nocturnal mammal that spends most of its life hanging upside-down in trees. This arboreal mammal is found in the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. The sloth is nocturnal and sleeps about 15-18 hours each day. Sloth have a thick grey brown fur coat and grow to a length of between 45 to 75 cm (1.5 and 2.5 ft). They have a short, flat head, big eyes, a short snout, a short or non-existent tail, long legs, tiny ears and long, curved claws that allow them to hang upside-down from branches without effort. Many sloths have colonies of green algae living in their fur that provide excellent camouflage. Male sloth have a bright yellow or orange patch on the back. Hair grows from the belly towards the back, opposite of all mammals. This way rain runs off easily while they hang on the trees. Sloths are omnivores eating leaves, young shoots, and fruit as well as insects and small lizards, which it digests very slowly. Sloths have few predators, the main ones being the jaguar and harpy eagle. Their biggest threat is loss of habitat. Though its large claws provide defense its best defense is a camouflaged coat and slow movement, which make them hard to see among the forest canopy. Females normally bear one young every year, but sometimes sloth’s' lack of movement actually keeps females from finding males for longer than one year. Sloths belong to one of two families: two-toed sloth (Megalonychidae) or the three-toed sloth (Bradypodidae). Two-toed sloth are generally faster moving and more "aggressive" than three-toed sloth.

The harpy eagle is the largest and most powerful eagle found in the Americas. It is found in tropical lowland forests from southeastern Mexico to southern Brazil. This bird prefers large expanses of uninterrupted forest, but will hunt in open areas adjacent to forest patches. The female harpy eagles are 100 cm (3 ft) long with a 200 cm (7 ft) wingspan and average 7.5 kg (16.5 lb). The male, in comparison, weighs only about 4.75 kg (10.5 lb). It is dark grey overall, with an ash-grey head, and white belly. Both sexes have an erectile crown of long feathers on its head. The talons, up to 13 cm (5 in.) in size, are extremely powerful perhaps the most powerful of any raptorial bird. The harpy in flight can reach speeds above 80 km/h (50 mph). They typically can only fly with prey weighing up to approximately one half of their body weight. Their main prey are tree-dwelling mammals such as monkeys, coatis and sloth; it may also attack other bird species. A pair of harpy eagles lays two white eggs in a large stick nest high in a tree, and raises one chick every 2-3 years. After the first chick hatches the second egg is ignored and fails to hatch. The chick fledges in 6 months, but the parents continue to feed it for another 6-10 months.

Black caimans are large, meat-eating reptiles that live along slow moving rivers and lakes in the flooded savannas of the Amazon basin and other freshwater habitats in South America. The black caiman can grow to at least 4 m (13 ft.) long making it the largest predator in the Amazon basin. It has a bony ridge over the eyes, black armored skin and is very similar to the American alligator. Caimans swim very well, using their tails and webbed feet to propel themselves through the water. They are nocturnal, eating fish (including piranhas, electric eels and catfish), birds, turtles, reptiles, and mammals such as capybara and deer. They have sharp conical teeth that are designed to grab rather than rip their prey which they swallow whole after drowning it. Females build a huge soil-and-vegetation mound nest (1.5 m/5 ft across) and lay 50 to 60 eggs in each clutch. Humans are their only predator having almost hunted it to extinction for its hide and meat.

Piranha (also known as caribe) are a group of aggressive, meat eating fresh water fish found in the Amazon River and other slow moving rivers in South America. They live in schools of about 20 fish. There are many species of piranha; they belong to the genera Pygocentrus and Serrasalmus. Piranhas range in color from yellow to steel-gray to bluish to partly red to almost black. They are usually 15-25 cm (6-10 in.) long. Piranhas have a bulldog-like face with a very large lower jaw and many razor-sharp teeth. The teeth are replaceable; when one is broken off, a new one grows in its place. Piranhas eat aquatic and land animals that are in the water. Some of the prey includes fish, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, birds, lizards, amphibians, rodents, and carrion (dead meat that they find). These fish are diurnal (most active during the day). Many animals prey upon piranhas (especially young piranhas), including other piranhas, caimans, water snakes, turtles, birds, otters, and people (piranhas taste good). They reproduce by laying eggs.

Tarantula is the common name for a group of hairy, sometimes very large spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which 800 species have been identified. Tarantulas hunt prey on the ground and do not spin webs. Tarantulas eat insects and other arthropods while the biggest tarantulas can kill animals as large as lizards, mice, or birds. Most tarantulas are relatively harmless—they have a feeble sting no worse than a bee. Their main defense is body hairs that can detach and lodge in the skin, creating a painful itch. Many species have burrows in the ground, where they spend most of the time. Others make a nest in leaves. Tarantulas are ambush hunters, and are generally active only at night. It waits near the mouth of the tunnel, and when some unsuspecting prey ambles by, the spider leaps out, and drags it back into the lair. Females deposit 50 to 2000 eggs, depending on the species, in a silken egg sac and guard it for 6 to 7 weeks. The young remain in the nest for some time after hatching and then disperse by crawling in all directions. Common Amazon species include the Red Tarantula and the Black Tarantula.