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Rio Salobra, southern Pantanal, Brazil

Sponsored by

Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, Salobra

The name Pantanal comes from the Portuguese word pântano – swampy lowland, wet lowland. This natural region covers an area of over 135.000 km², 65% of which is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

The climate of the Pantanal is tropical, with a pronounced dry period from may to September, and a rainy season that begins from November to April. As a result, the water level of the Pantanal rises to 5 meters, forming a region filled with numerous lakes and rivers.

One of these rivers is the Salobra. The Salobra River flows in the Pantanal, an area in Brazil that covers the largest tropical wetland in the world. It is located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and extends into parts of Mato Grosso and Bolivia and Paraguay. This is clear water biotope. Plants with small leaves, growing densely, along with pieces of driftwood and roots of nearby tree provides good shelter for small fishes like tetras, killifishes, apistogramma etc.

Submitted by
Biswarup Goon
Approved by
Roberto E. Reis & Flávio Lima
GPS
-20.2040405, -56.4986191
Geographical region
South America
Drainage Basin
Pantanal
River catchment
Rio Miranda
Water body type
Rio
Water body name
Rio Salobra
Water body part
Flood plain
Water body course
Lower course
Water body: tributary of
Wetland
Tributary name
Pantanal

Videos above and below water

Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type
Fresh water
Water color
Mixed water
Water transparency
Medium
Concentration of sediments
Medium
Water temperature
22-26 °C
Water flow/curent
Slow

Chemical parameters

pH
7.4
Conductivity
388
GH
9 mg/l
KH
9 mg/l
Dissolved Oxygen
95 %

Substrate in nature

Sand
Beige
Pebble/Gravel
Orange
Stone
Mixed
Stone form
Irregular
Silt/Mud
Beige
Leaves
Adundant
Driftwood
Many
Submerged terrestrial vegetation
Yes

Aquatic Biotope

Date of collecting
25/03/2020
Collecting area
Flooded area
Water depth
0,5m
Air temperature
27 °C
Sunlight
Full sun

Environment

Environment
Untouched
Surrounding area

Pantanal is an area in Brazil that covers the largest tropical wetland in the world. It is located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and extends into parts of Mato Grosso and Bolivia and Paraguay. It spreads over an area of 195,000 to 140,000 square kilometers. Pantanal is a home for over 400 variety of fish and upon thousands of invertebrates. Fish population contains about 80% of characiform.
The name Pantanal comes from the Portuguese word pântano – swampy lowland, wet lowland. This natural region covers an area of over 135 thousand square kilometers, 65% of which is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The climate of the Pantanal is tropical, with a pronounced dry period from may to September, and a rainy season that begins from November to April. As a result, the water level of the Pantanal rises to 5 meters, forming a region filled with numerous lakes and rivers. One of these rivers is the Salobra.

Terrestrial vegetation:

  • Brachiaria humidicola
  • Nassella trichotoma
  • Copernicia alba
  • Euphorbia hirta
  • Attalea speciosa
  • Astrocaryum rodriguesii
Underwater landscape

Pantanal, clear water biotope, during a rainy season. Plants with small leaves, growing densely, along with pieces of driftwood and roots of nearby tree provides good shelter for small fishes like Apistogramma sp. Customise sp. Corydoras sp.
Water is full of small crustaceans and insect larvae, giving an excellent food source and encourages fish to spawn. Quite low water level near the banks (only about 50cm) of the pond keeps the large predators away. Detritus, algae and protozoa that occurs in leave litter, on the wood and plants are a good source of food for fry. Underwater live is showing its beauty everywhere. In the places where sunlight reaches the water undisturbed by trees, and uncovered by leaves, aquatic vegetation occurs in its greatness.

Fishes:

  • Aphyocharax rathbuni
  • Apistogramma borellii
  • Apistogramma trifasciata
  • Aphyocharax nattereri
  • Aphyocharax dentatus
  • Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
  • Hemigrammus ulreyi
  • Hyphessobrycon elachys
  • Hyphessobrycon eques
  • Hyphessobrycon megalopterus
  • Jupiaba acanthogaster
  • Moenkhausia bonita
  • Moenkhausia forestii
  • Moenkhausia dichroura
  • Corydoras polystictus
  • Corydoras aeneus
  • Cichlasoma dimerus
  • Characidium zebra
  • Hoplias misionera
  • Characidium laterale
  • Brycon hilarii
  • Potamotrygon falkneri

Aquatic plants:

  • Pontederia crassipes
  • Cabomba furcata
  • Myriophyllum tuberculatum
  • Ceratohpyllum demersum
  • Eleocharis sp.
  • Ludwigia inclinata
  • Pontederia azurea
  • Salvinia auriculata
  • Polygonum hispidum
  • Polygonum puntatum

Wetland plants:

  • Cyperus sp.
Threats to ecology

The Salobra River is the only river in the state where fishing is prohibited, which means that the fishing community is large and diverse, which in turn supports many other animals here, including a large number of birds, giant otters, and countless other creatures.

Since 2000, the Pantanal has been a UNESCO world natural heritage site.