Jungle, or scientifically, rainforests, from the tops of the trees to the forest floor are filled with life. Found here animals, about each of which you can write a separate report: this is a crocodile, anteater, hippopotamus, bat, sloth, koala, chimpanzee, porcupine, gorilla, armadillo. Insects: termites, tropical butterflies, mosquitoes. Tarantulas, hummingbirds and parrots. Hundreds of plant, bird, and animal species thrive in the rainforest.
Select a report about a rainforest inhabitant:
What does "tropics" mean?
The tropics are called forests growing near the equator. These forests are the most important ecosystem of the Earth. Coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, South American coasts, the West Indies, part of Africa, the island of Madagascar, and some Asian countries and islands Pacific Ocean- occupied by tropical thickets. The tropics make up only 6 percent of the land mass.
High humidity and a hot climate are the main features of the fabulous variety of forms of life here. Constant heat, frequent, plentiful, short-lived tropical downpours, contribute to the rapid growth and development of the flora. And the fauna, thanks to the abundance of water, also does not suffer from drought. Tropical forests have red or mottled soils, and the forest itself is multi-tiered, and each level is densely populated. Such a variety of flora and fauna is possible due to ideal living conditions.
Who lives in the rainforest and how?
The wilds of the forest are inhabited by a variety of animals. Giant elephants and small insects, birds and animals of medium size, can live simultaneously in one part of the forest, but at different levels, finding shelter and food in the forests. No other place on land has such a wealth of ancient forms of life - endemics. Due to the dense foliage cover, the undergrowth in the rainforest is weak and animals can move freely.
The variety of animals in the rainforest is amazing: along with reptiles (turtles, crocodiles, lizards and snakes), there are many amphibians. The abundance of food attracts herbivorous animals. They are followed by predators (leopards, tigers, jaguars). The color of the inhabitants of the tropics is saturated, since spots and stripes help to better camouflage in the forest. Many species of ants, tropical butterflies and spiders provide a food base for hundreds of bird species. The tropics are home to the most monkeys on the planet, there are more than one and a half hundred parrots, 700 species of butterflies, including giant ones.
Unfortunately, many representatives of the jungle fauna (antelopes, rhinos, etc.) were exterminated by man during colonialism. Now many animals that used to live freely in tropical forests are left only in nature reserves and zoos. The destruction of forests by man leads to the reduction of fauna and flora, soil erosion, and the loss of the ecological balance of our planet. Tropical forests - the "green lungs of the planet" - have been sending us a message for decades, signaling that a person must be responsible for his actions.
If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you
Tropical rainforests cover less than 6 percent of the Earth's surface and scientists estimate that at least half of the world's animal species live there. In fact, there are many millions of species of tropical mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects that scientists have been unable to count. Thousands of species of insects have not yet been discovered. Thus, it will undoubtedly take many decades for science to fully answer the question "what animals live in the rainforest."
photo: Dave Rushen
Of course, science is already familiar with a large number of tropical animals and birds. Tropical forests are covered with dense, tall trees near the Earth's equator, which receive 2000 mm of precipitation per year. Which animals live in rainforests depends on where the rainforests are, Central America or northern South America, equatorial Africa, South Asia down through the South Pacific islands to northern Australia.
photo: Martien Uiterweerd
The animals of the various rainforests around the world have evolved thousands of miles apart and therefore differ from continent to continent and even from forest to forest. However, all rainforests are similar in many ways, many of the animal species in them are also similar. For example, all rainforests offer a breathtaking array of bird species, as well as birds from the wettest rainforests including parrots.
photo: Nick Johnson
In the countries of Central and South America, the large macaw familiar to us lives; The African rainforests are home to the African Gray Parrot, which is famous for its ability to imitate sounds, including human speech. Cockatoos and a few Australian parrots live in Asia, the South Pacific and the Australian forests.
photo:Debbie Grant
What animals live in tropical forests? Mostly big cats acting as top predators. In the tropical forests of Central and South America, where the ecological niche is occupied by jaguars and cougars. African rainforests are run by leopards. In the South Asian rainforests, tigers and leopards are the top predators.
photo: Thomas Widmann
The rainforests are home to a number of primate species: spider monkeys and howler monkeys in Central and South America. Baboons, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas in Africa. Gibbons and orangutans in South Asia.
photo: Pierson Hill
From the reptile rainforests, the pythons of Africa and Asia are counterparts of the anaconda in the Amazon jungle. Venomous snakes abound in all rainforests, bushmaster and coral snakes in South and Central America and cobras in Africa and Asia, from alligators and caimans in the Americas to many species of crocodiles in Africa and Asia.
List of tropical animals in the Amazon:
Jaguars, Pumas, Ocelots, tapirs, capybaras, bushmasters and caimans (several species; the largest being the black caiman), harpies, macaws, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, piranhas, leaf cutters.
photo: Jon Mountjoy
List of tropical animals of Africa:
leopard, okapi, Nile crocodile, mambas (several types of poisonous snakes), gray parrot, crowned eagle, chimpanzee, bonobos, gorilla, mandrills, baboons, colobus, tiger fish, termites.
List of tropical animals of Asia:
Tiger, Leopard, Lazy Bear, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Elephant, Buffalo, Cockatoo, Black Eagle, Saltwater Crocodile, Burmese Python, Cobras (several species), Orangutan, Gibbons, Macaques.
photo: Stephen Hampshire
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Tropical forests are found in a wide belt that surrounds the Earth at the equator and is torn apart only by oceans and mountains. Their distribution coincides with an area of low pressure that occurs when rising tropical air is replaced moist air, coming from the north and south, and forming an area of intratropical convergence.
The rainforest is a response of flora to high temperatures and abundant moisture. Anytime average temperature should be between about 21°C and 32°C, and the annual rainfall should exceed 150 centimeters. Since the sun is approximately at its zenith throughout the year, climatic conditions are in constancy, which is not in any other natural area. The rainforest is often associated with big rivers that carry away excess rainwater. Such rivers are found in the South American island continent, the African subcontinent, and the Australian subcontinent.
Despite the constant fall of dead leaves, the soil in the rainforest is very thin. Conditions for decomposition are so favorable that humus is unable to form. Tropical rain leaches clay minerals out of the soil, preventing important nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate, potassium, sodium, and calcium from accumulating in the soil, as occurs in soils of temperate latitudes. Tropical soils contain only the nutrients found in the decaying plants themselves.
On the basis of the tropical forest, many variants are formed, which are the result of both climatic differences and features environment. The gallery forest is found where the forest ends abruptly, as on the banks of a wide river. Here the branches and leaves form a dense wall of vegetation that reaches down to the ground to benefit from sunlight coming in from the side. Less lush monsoon forests exist in areas where there is a pronounced dry season. They are distributed along the edges of the continents, where the prevailing winds in some part of the year blow from dry areas, and are typical of the Hindustan Peninsula and part of the Australian subcontinent. Mangrove forest is found in areas of salty sea marshes along muddy coasts and in estuaries.
The rainforest does not have dominant tree species as in other forest habitats. This is due to the fact that there is no seasonality, and therefore the insect population does not fluctuate; insects that feed on a certain type of tree are always present and destroy the seeds and seedlings of this tree if they are sown nearby. Therefore, success in the struggle for existence awaits only those seeds that have been transferred to some distance from the parent tree and the population of insects constantly existing on it. In this way, an obstacle arises for the formation of thickets of any one type of tree.
Rainforest areas have increased markedly since the Age of Man. In the past, human agricultural activities accounted for a significant share of the damage to tropical forests. Primitive societies cut down a section of forest and exploited the cleared areas for crops for several years until the soil was depleted, forcing them to move to another area. In the cleared areas, the original forest was not restored immediately, and it took several thousand years after the extinction of mankind before the rainforest belt returned to some semblance of its natural state.
TROPICAL FOREST CANOPY
A world of gliding, climbing and clinging creatures
The rainforest is one of the richest habitats on earth. High rainfall and a stable climate mean that there is a constant growth season, and therefore there are no periods when there is nothing to eat. Abundant vegetation stretching upwards to reach the light, although continuous, is very clearly divided into horizontal levels. Photosynthesis is most active at the very top, at the level of the forest canopy, where the tops of the trees branch and form an almost continuous cover of greenery and flowers. Beneath it, sunlight is highly diffused, and this habitat consists of the trunks of taller trees and the crowns of those trees that have not yet reached the forest canopy. The undergrowth is a gloomy realm of shrubs and grasses that spread in all directions to make the best use of the crumbs of sunlight that make their way here.
Although a huge number of plant species support an equal diversity of animal species, the number of individual individuals of each of them is relatively small. This situation is exactly the opposite of that which develops in such harsh habitats as the tundra, where, due to the fact that few species can adapt to the conditions of the terrain, there are many fewer species of both plants and animals, but incomparably more individuals of each of them. As a result, the population of tropical forest animals remains stable and does not occur cyclic fluctuations the abundance of both predators and their prey.
Just like in any other habitat, birds of prey, eagles and hawks are important treetop predators. The tree-dwelling animals of these places must be nimble enough to escape from them, and also to elude tree-climbing predators attacking from below. The mammals that do this best are primates: marmosets, broad-nosed and great apes, and lemurs. long-armed zidda Araneapithecus manucaudata from the African subcontinent took this specialization to the extreme and developed Long hands, legs and fingers, so that she became a brachiator, that is, she swings on her hands, throwing her small rounded body among the branches of trees at great speed. It also developed a prehensile tail like its South American relatives in the first half of the Age of Mammals. However, her tail is not used for locomotion, but only for hanging from it while resting or sleeping.
flying monkey Alesimia lapsus, a very small marmoset-like monkey, has adapted to gliding flight. The development of this adaptation paralleled the evolution of many other mammals, which in the course of evolution developed a flying membrane from folds of skin between the limbs and tail. To support the flight membrane and withstand the stresses of flight, the spine and limb bones became unusually strong for an animal of this size. Ruddering with its tail, the flying monkey makes very long gliding jumps between the crowns of the tallest trees to eat fruits and termites there.
Probably the most specialized arboreal reptile species in the African rain forest is the prehensile tail. Flagellanguis viridis- a very long and thin tree snake. Its broad prehensile tail, the most muscular part of its body, is used to latch onto a tree while it lies in ambush, curled up and camouflaged among the foliage in its highest canopies, waiting for an inadvertently passing bird. The snake can "shoot" up to three meters, which is about four-fifths of its body length, and grab prey by holding tightly to a branch with its tail.
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LIVING IN TREES
The evolution of life in danger
For most of the Age of Mammals, apes enjoyed a certain security of life in the tops of trees. Although there were a number of predators there, no one was strictly specialized in hunting them - but this was before the appearance of the striger.
This ferocious little creature Saevitia feliforme, descended from the last of the true cats about 30 million years ago, and settled in the rainforests of Africa and Asia; its success is closely related to the fact that it is just as well adapted as its prey to life in trees. The strieger has even evolved a physique similar to that of the monkeys it feeds on: a long, slender body, forelimbs capable of flapping up to 180°, a prehensile tail, and fingers on the fore and hind limbs that can oppose and grasp branches.
With the advent of the strieger, the arboreal fauna of the rainforest has undergone significant changes. Some slow leaf and fruit-eating animals were completely exterminated. Others, however, were able to evolve when faced with a new threat. Usually, if the environmental factor turns out to be so radical that it seems to be introduced from outside, there is a rapid leap in evolution, because now the advantages give completely different signs.
This principle is demonstrated by the armored tail Testudicaudatus tardus, a lemur-like semi-monkey with a strong, armored tail protected by a series of overlapping horny plates. Before the advent of tree-dwelling predators, such a tail was evolutionarily disadvantageous, reducing the success of foraging. Any trends leading to the evolution of such a cumbersome device could be quickly swept aside by natural selection. But in the face of constant danger, the importance of successful foraging becomes secondary to the ability to defend, and thus creates favorable conditions for the evolution of such an adaptation.
By itself, it is a leaf-eating animal that moves slowly along the branches with its back down. When a strigger attacks, the armored tail unhooks and hangs, hooked on a branch with its tail. Now the armored tail is out of danger - the part of its body accessible to the predator is too well armored to be vulnerable.
Khiffa Armasenex aedificator is an ape whose defense is based on its social organization. She lives in groups of up to twenty individuals and builds defensive fortifications on tree branches. These large hollow nests, woven from twigs and creepers and covered with a waterproof roof of leaves, have multiple entrances, usually located where the main branches of the tree run through the structure. Most of the foraging and building work is done by females and young males. Adult males stay away from it, they protect the fortification and have developed a unique set of features to fulfill their very specialized role: a horny carapace on the face and chest, and terrible claws on the thumb and forefinger.
Females don't know what it's like to taunt a streaker running past and let her be chased all the way to the fortification, rushing to safety while the streaker following her is stopped by a mighty male who can gut him with a single wave of his terrible claws. This seemingly nonsensical behavior, however, provides the colony with fresh meat, a welcome addition to a mostly vegetarian diet of roots and berries. But only young and inexperienced strigers can be caught in this way.
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UNDERGROWTH
The dark zone of forest life
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LIFE IN WATER
Inhabitants of tropical waters
The largest aquatic mammal in the African swamps is the waterglot. Phocapotamus lutuphagus. Although it is descended from an aquatic rodent, it shows adaptations that have evolved in parallel with those of the extinct ungulate, the hippopotamus. It has a broad head, and the eyes, ears and nostrils are located on bulges in its upper part in such a way that they can still work even when the animal is completely submerged in water. The needleglot eats only aquatic plants, which he scoops up with his wide mouth, or pulls out of the mud with his tusks. It has a long body, and the hind legs have merged together and form a fin, giving the animal an outward resemblance to seals. Although it is very clumsy out of the water, it spends most of its time on the mudflats, where it breeds and raises its offspring in noisy colonies near the water's edge.
Not so well adapted, but nevertheless, a species successfully living in water is the water monkey. Natopithecus ranapes. Descended from the talapoin, or pygmy marmoset Allenopithecus nigraviridis The Age of Man, this creature has developed in the process of evolution a body similar to a frog, with webbed hind legs, long clawed fingers on the front paws for fishing, and a comb along the back to keep balance in the water. Like an ilogloth, her sense organs are shifted up on her head. It lives in trees growing near water, from which it dives to catch fish, which form the basis of its diet.
Terrestrial animals that have switched to an aquatic lifestyle usually did so in order to escape from terrestrial predators. Perhaps that is why water ants began to build their huge nest on rafts in swamps and quiet backwaters. Such a nest is made of twigs and fibrous plant materials, and made watertight with putty made from mud and glandular secretions. It is connected to the coast and floating food stores by a network of bridges and roads. However, with their new lifestyle, the ants are still vulnerable to the water anteater. Myrmevenarius amphibius, which evolved parallel to them. This anteater feeds exclusively on water ants, and in order to get close to them unnoticed, it attacks the nest from below, tearing apart the waterproof shell with its clawed flippers. Since below the water level the nest consists of separate chambers that can immediately become watertight in case of danger, little damage is done to the colony as a whole. Ants that drown during the attack, however, are enough to feed the anteater.
Fish-eating birds, such as the toothed kingfisher Halcyonova aquatica, often found along the water channels of tropical swamps. The beak of the kingfisher is strongly serrate, with tooth-like outgrowths that help to prick the fish. Although it can neither fly like its ancestors, nor hover over water and dive like they did, it has mastered "underwater flight" by stalking its prey in its own habitat. Having caught a fish, the kingfisher floats to the surface of the water and swallows it into the throat pouch before bringing it to the nest.
tree duck Dendrocygna volubaris is an aquatic creature that seems to have changed its mind about its preferred habitat and is in the process of transitioning back to the more arboreal lifestyle of its distant ancestors. Although it still has a duck-like appearance, its webbed feet are reduced, and its rounded beak is more suited to feeding on insects, lizards, and fruits than aquatic animals. The tree duck still survives in the water from predators, and its offspring do not come out onto land until they are almost adults.
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AUSTRALIAN FORESTS
Marsupial dart frogs and marsupial predators
His tongue has a bristly tip.
The undergrowth of the vast rainforest of the Australian subcontinent is home to numerous marsupials. One of their most common and successful species is the omnivorous marsupial pig. Thylasus virgatus, a marsupial analogue of the tapir. Like its placental prototype, it roams the gloomy undergrowth in small herds, sniffing and digging for food in a thin layer of soil with the help of a flexible, sensitive snout and protruding tusks. Protective coloration helps her hide from predators.
The largest animal in the Australian forest, and in fact the largest animal in the rainforests of the world, is the gigantala. Silfrangerus giganteus. This animal is descended from plains-dwelling kangaroos and wallabies, which were quite common when much of the continent was arid savannah, and its upright posture and characteristic hopping mode of locomotion betray its origins. The gigantala is so large that at first glance it seems ill-adapted to life in the cramped conditions of the undergrowth of the rainforest. However, her large stature gives her the advantage that she can feed on leaves and shoots that are out of reach for other forest dwellers, and her massive build means that shrubs and small trees don't impede her movement. As the gigantala cuts its way through the thicket, it leaves behind a well-marked trail, which, until it disappears due to the natural growth of the forest, is used as a road by smaller animals like the marsupial pig.
The convergent evolution taking place on the Australian subcontinent is not unique to marsupials. Fatsnake Pingophis viperaforme, descended from one of the many species of snakes that have always been a feature of the Australian fauna, acquired many features of forest ground vipers, such as the Gaboon viper and the noisy viper from a long-lived genus Bitis, which are found elsewhere in the Northern Continent. They include a thick, slow-moving body, and a coloration that makes it completely invisible in the undergrowth leaf litter. The neck of the fatsnake is very long and flexible, and allows the head to obtain food almost independently of the body. His main method of hunting is to inflict venomous bite from the ambush where he hides. Only later, when the poison finally kills the prey and begins its digestive action, does the fat snake pick it up and eat it.
Australian bowerbirds have always been famous for their fantastic buildings, which were built by males to court females. hawkbill Dimorphoptilornis iniquitus here is no exception. In itself, his building is a rather modest structure, containing a simple nest and a small altar-like structure in front of it. While the female is incubating the eggs, the male, a bird rather like a hawk, catches a small animal or reptile and places it on the altar. This offering is not eaten, but serves as bait to attract flies, which the female then catches and feeds to the male to ensure that his cares continue during the long period of incubation. When the chicks hatch, the chicks are fed by fly larvae that develop on rotting carrion.
Another curious bird is the ground termitor. Neopardalotus subterrestris. This mole-like bird lives permanently underground in termite nests, where it digs nest chambers with its large paws and feeds on termites with its long, sticky tongue.
Occupying only 6% of the land, the jungle is home to 50% of the species of living beings. Many of them are archaic, ancient. The constant heat and humidity of the jungle have allowed them to survive to this day.
The crowns of the tropics are so tightly closed that the hornbills, turacos and toucans that live here have almost forgotten how to fly. But they are excellent at jumping and climbing branches. It is easy to get lost in the intricacies of trunks and roots. Only one expedition in 2007 to the island of Borneo gave the world 123 previously unknown tropical animals.
Inhabitants of the forest floor
Litter is called the lower tier of the tropics. There are fallen leaves and branches. The overgrowth blocks the light. Therefore, only 2% of the total amount of sunlight illuminates the litter. This limits the vegetation. Only shade-tolerant representatives of the flora survive in the litter. Some plants reach for the light, climbing tree trunks like vines.
There are such creepers among animal bedding. Many of them are large and long necks. This allows, so to speak, to come out of the shadows. The rest of the inhabitants of the lower tier of the tropics do not need lighting, but depend only on heat. We are talking about snakes, frogs, insects and inhabitants of the soil.
Tapir
Looks like a pig with a long trunk. In fact, the tapir is a relative of rhinos and horses. Together with the trunk, the length of the body of the animal is about 2 meters. Tapirs weigh about 3 centners, are found in Asia and.
Leading a nocturnal lifestyle, pig-like creatures disguised themselves. Black and white coloration makes tapirs invisible in the dark jungle floor, illuminated by the moon.
Animals that live in the rainforest got a long nose in order to hide from the heat and predators under water. When diving, tapirs leave the tip of the "trunk" on the surface. It serves as a breathing tube.
Tapir is a primitive animal that looks today as it did a thousand years ago, which is rare for animals.
Cuban flint tooth
It was declared extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, the animal was found again. The insectivore is a relict species. Outwardly, its representatives are something between a hedgehog, a rat and a shrew.
Living in the mountain tropics of Cuba, the sand tooth is the largest of the insectivores. The body length of the animal is 35 centimeters. The shaletooth weighs about a kilogram.
Cassowary
These are flightless birds. Awarded the most dangerous on earth. In from the powerful paws and clawed wings of cassowaries, 1-2 people die annually. How can feathered wings be clawed?
The fact is that the flying "devices" of the cassowaries have been transformed into such rudiments. On their central finger is a sharp claw. Its size and strength are frightening, given the bird's 500-kilogram weight and 2-meter height.
On the head of the cassowary there is a dense leathery outgrowth. Its purpose is not clear to scientists. Outwardly, the outgrowth resembles a helmet. There is an assumption that he breaks the branches when the bird runs in the thick of the tropics.
The cassowary is an extremely irritable bird, goes into a rage for no apparent reason, attacking people
Okapi
Found in the tropics. In the appearance of the animal, the signs of a giraffe and a zebra are combined. The body structure and coloration are borrowed from the latter. Black and white stripes adorn the legs of the okapi. The rest of the body is brown. Head and neck like those of a giraffe. According to the genome, it is his relative that the okapi is. Otherwise, representatives of the species are called forest giraffes.
The okapi's neck is shorter than that of savannah giraffes. But the animal long tongue. It is elongated by 35 centimeters, bluish in color. The organ allows the okapi to reach the foliage and clean the eyes and ears.
western gorilla
Among primates, it is the largest, lives in the jungles of the center of Africa. The DNA of an animal is almost 96% identical to that of a human. This applies to both lowland and mountain gorillas. The latter live in the tropics. They are few in number. Less than 700 individuals remain in nature.
There are about 100,000 lowland gorillas. Another 4,000 are kept in zoos. There are no mountain gorillas in captivity.
Knowing how to walk on their hind legs, gorillas prefer to move on 4 at the same time. In this case, the animals put their hands sideways, leaning on the back of their fingers. Monkeys need to keep the skin of their palms thin and delicate. This is necessary for the proper sensitivity of the brushes, subtle manipulations with them.
Sumatran rhinoceros
He is the smallest among them. There are few large animals in the jungle. Firstly, it is easier for small creatures to make their way through the thickets. Secondly, the diversity of tropical species should fit into fertile, but small areas.
Among the rhinos, the Sumatran is also the most ancient and rare. Animal life in the rainforest limited to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Here the rhinoceroses reach one and a half meters in height and 2.5 in length. One individual weighs about 1300 kilograms.
The rhinoceros picks up berries and fruits that have fallen from sloppy birds
undergrowth animals
The undergrowth is just above the litter, already receives 5% of the sun's rays. In order to capture them, plants grow wide leaf plates. Their area allows you to capture the maximum light. In height, representatives of the flora of the undergrowth do not exceed 3 meters. Accordingly, the tier itself is the same minus half a meter from the ground.
They fall on the floor. rainforest animals in the undergrowth are often medium-sized, sometimes medium-sized. The tier is inhabited by mammals, reptiles, and birds.
Jaguar
Lives in the tropics of America. The weight of the animal is 80-130 kilograms. It is the largest cat in America. The color of each individual is unique, like human fingerprints. Spots on the skins of predators are compared with them.
Jaguars are excellent swimmers. On water, cats prefer to move by clinging to logs. On land, jaguars are also associated with trees. On them, cats drag their prey, hiding it in the branches from other contenders for meat.
The jaguar is the third largest big cat after lions and tigers.
Binturong
Belongs to the civet family. Outwardly, the binturong is something between a cat and a raccoon. The relatives of the animal are genets and lisangs. Like them, the binturong is a predator. However, the touching appearance, as it were, discards the fear of the animal.
Binturong lives in the tropics of Asia. Most of all the Indian population. When dividing territories, binturongs mark their possessions with a liquid that smells like popcorn.
South American nosoha
Represents raccoons. The animal has a long and mobile nose. He, like the head of the beast, is narrow. The name of the species is associated with the nose as a distinguishing feature. You can meet its representatives in the tropics of South America.
There, noses, like jaguars, climb trees perfectly. The noses have short, but flexible and mobile paws with tenacious claws. The structure of the limbs allows animals to descend from trees both forward backwards and muzzle.
Nosuha climbs trees for fruit and hiding from danger. In her absence, the beast is not averse to walking on the jungle floor. By digging with its clawed paws, nosuha finds reptiles and insects. Being omnivorous, the animal preys on them.
dart frog
Among the existing reptiles, poison dart frogs are the brightest. On the photo rainforest animals distinguished by coloring in tones of indigo. There are also turquoise and blue-black colors. They make a frog stand out against the background for a reason. surrounding nature like a tropical bud.
A dart frog has no need to disguise itself. Among reptiles, the animal produces the most powerful poison. The frog is not touched, even when seen in front of one's nose. More often, predators and people bounce off the blue beauty, fearing poison. One frog shot is enough to kill 10 people. There is no antidote.
The venom of the poison dart frog contains 100 substances of non-protein nature. It is believed that the frog gets them by processing the tropical ants that it feeds on. When dart frogs are kept in captivity on other food, they become harmless, non-poisonous.
The singing of poison dart frogs does not at all resemble the usual croaking, but rather resembles the sounds made by a cricket.
common boa constrictor
Similar to a python, but slimmer. The boa constrictor also does not have a supraorbital bone. Finding out what animals live in the rainforest, it is important to "discard" the Argentine boa constrictor. He settles in arid and desert places. Other subspecies live in the tropics.
Some hunt in the water. In America, where rivers and lakes are occupied by anacondas, boas feed on the ground and trees.
common boa constrictor often replaces the cat in the tropics. The inhabitants of the jungle settlements lure snakes, allowing them to live in barns and warehouses. There boas catch mice. Therefore, the snake is considered partially domesticated.
flying dragon
This is a lizard with skin outgrowths on the sides. They open when the animal jumps from the tree like wings. They are not attached to the paws. Moveable, rigid ribs plow open the folds.
A flying dragon descends into the jungle floor only to lay eggs. They are usually from 1 to 4 ex. Lizards bury their eggs in fallen leaves or soil.
The dragon can dive for long distances while landing silently
Rainforest canopy dwellers
A tropical canopy is otherwise called a canopy. It is made up of tall, broad-leaved trees. Their crowns form a kind of roof over the litter and undergrowth. The height of the canopy is 35-40 meters. Many birds and arthropods hide in the crowns of trees. The last in the canopy of the tropics are 20 million species. There are fewer reptiles, invertebrates and mammals at altitude.
kinkajou
Represents the raccoon family. Lives kinkazhu in America. In the tropics, the animal settles in the crowns of trees. On their branches, the kinkajou moves, clinging to the long tail.
Despite the small similarity and lack of relationship with clubfoot, animals are called tree bears. It's a matter of diet. Kinkajou loves honey. His animal extracts with the help of the tongue. In length, it reaches 13 centimeters, allowing you to climb into the hive.
Kinkajous are easily tamed, very affable and are often kept at home.
Malayan bear
Among the bears, he is the only one who almost never descends to the ground, lives in trees. The Malayan clubfoot is also the smallest in its squadron. The fur of the bear is shorter than that of other Potapyches. Otherwise, representatives of the Malay species would not be able to live in the tropics of Asia.
Among bears, the Malay clubfoot has the longest tongue. It reaches 25 centimeters. The claws of the animal are also the longest. How else to climb trees?
Jaco
One of the smartest parrots. Like a real intellectual, Zhako is modestly “dressed”. The plumage of the bird is grey. Only on the tail there are red feathers. Their shade is not flashy, but rather cherry. You can see birds in the jungle Africa. rainforest animals Continents are successfully kept in captivity and often become news heroes.
So, a Jaco nicknamed Baby from the USA remembered the names of the robbers who entered his owner's apartment. Birds gave out the data of the thieves to the police.
Jaco is listed in the Guinness Book of Records, who knew about 500 words in different languages. The bird spoke in connected sentences.
coata
Otherwise known as the spider monkey. The animal has a tiny head, a massive body against its background, and long, thin limbs. When the koata stretches them between the branches, it seems like a spider waiting for prey. The black, shiny coat of the animal is also confusing, like fluff on the bodies of arthropods.
The koata lives in South and Central America. With a 60-centimeter long monkey's body, the length of its tail is 90 centimeters.
Koats very rarely descend to the ground, sometimes spider monkeys fall and get injured that heal quickly
rainbow toucan
Large bird up to 53 cm long. With a massive and long beak, the toucan reaches the fruits on thin branches. Sit on them a bird, the shoots will not stand. The toucan weighs about 400 grams. The beak of the animal is painted in green, blue, orange, yellow, red.
The body is mostly black, but there is an extensive lemon-colored patch on the head with a red scarlet edging around the neck. Even the irises of the toucan's eyes are colored, turquoise. It becomes clear why the species is called iridescent.
The colorful appearance of the toucan is combined with the fruity variety of the tropics. However, a bird can also feast on protein food, catching insects, tree frogs. Sometimes toucans feed on the chicks of other birds.
Golden Helmet Kalao
The largest among the birds of the tropics. The bird weighs approximately 2 kilograms. The animal is named gold-helmeted due to the feathers sticking out on its head. They are, as it were, raised, forming a kind of armor from the times of the Roman Empire. The color of the feathers is golden.
There is a patch of bare skin on the neck of the kalao. It is slightly saggy and wrinkled, like a vulture or a turkey. Kalao is also distinguished by a massive beak. No wonder the bird belongs to the family of hornbills.
With long beaks, it is convenient for birds to collect fruits from branchy trees.
three-toed sloth
What animals are in the rainforest the slowest? The answer is obvious. On land, sloths move at a maximum speed of 16 meters per hour. Most of the time the animals spend on the branches of African jungle trees. There the sloths hang upside down. Most of the time the animals sleep, and the rest is slowly chewing on the leaves.
Sloths not only feed on vegetation, but are also covered in it. Animal fur is covered with microscopic algae. Therefore, the color of sloths is greenish. Algae are water plants. From there, the sloths took the "tenants".
Slow mammals are good swimmers. During the rainy season, sloths have to be melted down from tree to tree.
Upper tier of the tropics
Tropical rainforest animals the upper tier live at a height of 45-55 meters. At this mark, there are single crowns of especially tall trees. Other trunks do not aspire higher, because they are not adapted to stand alone in front of the winds and the heat of the sun.
Some birds, mammals, and bats also fight them. The choice is determined either by the proximity of the food supply, or by the presence of an overview of the terrain, or by moving to a safe distance from predators and dangers.
crowned eagle
Among birds of prey he is the largest. The body length of the animal exceeds a meter. The wingspan of a crowned eagle is more than 200 centimeters. hallmark species is a crest on the head. In moments of danger or fighting spirit, the feathers rise, forming a kind of crown, crown.
The crowned eagle lives in the jungles of Africa. You rarely see birds alone. Crowned birds live in pairs. Even their possessions animals fly around together. "Put on" the eagles, by the way, is about 16 square kilometers.
Giant flying fox
The muzzle of this bat is similar to a fox. Hence the name of the animal. His fur, by the way, is reddish, which also reminds of foxes. Soaring in the sky, the flyer opens its wings by 170 centimeters. The giant fox weighs over a kilogram.
There are giant flying foxes in Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Bats live in flocks. Flying 50-100 individuals, foxes terrify tourists.
royal colobus
Belongs to the monkey family. It differs from other colobuses by white markings on the chest, tail, and cheeks. The monkey lives in the jungles of Africa, growing up to 60-70 centimeters in length, excluding the tail. He is 80 cm.
Colobus rarely descend to the ground. Monkeys spend most of their lives on the tops of trees, where they feed on fruits.
Animal world rainforest- this is a fierce competition not only for space, light, but also food. Therefore, it is in the jungle that there are species that dine on what the inhabitants of other places do not even consider food.
How about eucalyptus leaves, for example? They contain a minimum of nutrients, and there are enough poisons, and only koalas have learned to neutralize them. So the animals of the species have provided themselves with an abundance of food, for which one does not have to fight.
In this post there will be scary, nasty, cute, kind, beautiful, incomprehensible animals.
Plus a short comment about each. They all really exist.
Watch and be amazed
SCHELEZUB- a mammal from the order of insectivores, divided into two main species: the Cuban flint tooth and the Haitian. Relatively large, relative to other types of insectivores, the beast: its length is 32 centimeters, and the tail, on average, 25 cm, the weight of the animal is about 1 kilogram, the physique is dense. 
MANED WOLF. Dwells in South America. The long legs of the wolf are the result of evolution in matters of adaptation to the habitat, they help the animal overcome obstacles in the form of tall grass growing on the plains. 
AFRICAN CIVETA- the only representative of the same genus. These animals live in Africa in open spaces with high grass from Senegal to Somalia, southern Namibia and eastern South Africa. The dimensions of the animal can visually increase quite strongly when the civet raises its hair when excited. And her fur is thick and long, especially on the back closer to the tail. The paws, muzzle and end of the tail are absolutely black, most of the body is spotty-striped. 
MUSKRAT. The animal is quite famous, thanks to its sonorous name. It's just a good photo. 
PROEKHIDNA. This miracle of nature usually weighs up to 10 kg, although larger specimens have also been noted. By the way, the length of the body of the prochidna reaches 77 cm, and this is not counting their cute five to seven centimeter tail. Any description of this animal is based on comparison with the echidna: the paws of the echidna are higher, the claws are more powerful. Another feature of the appearance of the prochidna is the spurs on the hind legs of males and the five-fingered hind limbs and the three-fingered forelimbs. 
CAPIBARA. Semi-aquatic mammal, the largest of modern rodents. It is the only representative of the capybara family (Hydrochoeridae). There is a dwarf variety of Hydrochoerus isthmius, sometimes considered as a separate species (capybara). 
SEA CUCUMBER. Holothuria. Sea-pods, sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates of the echinoderm type. Species eaten are common name"trepang". 
PANGOLIN. This post just couldn't do without it. 
HELL VAMPIRE. Mollusk. Despite its obvious similarity with the octopus and squid, scientists have identified this mollusk in a separate order Vampyromorphida (Latin), because as soon as it has retractable sensitive bee-shaped filaments. 
AARDVARK. In Africa, these mammals are called aardvark, which means "earth pig" in Russian. In fact, the aardvark in appearance very much resembles a pig, only with an elongated muzzle. The ears of this amazing animal are very similar in structure to those of a hare. There is also a muscular tail, which is very similar to the tail of such an animal as a kangaroo. 
JAPANESE GIANT SALAMANDRA. To date, this is the largest amphibian that can reach 160 cm in length, weigh up to 180 kg and can live up to 150 years, although the officially registered maximum age of a giant salamander is 55 years. 
BEARDED PIG. In different sources, the bearded pig species is divided into two or three subspecies. These are the curly-haired bearded pig (Sus barbatus oi), which lives on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus barbatus) and the Palawan bearded pig, which, judging by the name, live on the islands of Borneo and Palawan, as well as in Java , Kalimantan and small islands of the Indonesian archipelago in Southeast Asia. 
SUMATRAN RHINO. They belong to the equine-hoofed animals of the rhinoceros family. This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the entire family. The body length of an adult Sumatran rhinoceros can reach 200 - 280 cm, and the height at the withers can vary from 100 to 150 cm. Such rhinos can weigh up to 1000 kg. 
SULAWESI BEAR CUSCOUS. An arboreal marsupial living in the upper tier of lowland tropical forests. The coat of the bear couscous consists of a soft undercoat and coarse guard hairs. Color ranges from gray to brown, with a lighter belly and limbs, and varies by geographic subspecies and age of the animal. The prehensile, hairless tail is about half the length of the animal and acts as a fifth limb, making it easier to move through the dense rainforest. Bear couscous is the most primitive of all couscous, retaining primitive tooth growth and skull features. 
GALAGO. Its large fluffy tail is clearly comparable to that of a squirrel. And the charming muzzle and graceful movements, flexibility and insinuation, clearly reflect his feline trait. The amazing jumping ability, mobility, strength and incredible agility of this animal clearly show its nature as a funny cat and elusive squirrel. Of course, it would be where to use their talents, because a cramped cage is very poorly suited for this. But, if you give this little animal a little freedom and sometimes allow him to walk around the apartment, then all his quirks and talents will come true. Many even compare it to a kangaroo. 
WOMBAT. Without a photograph of a wombat, it is generally impossible to talk about strange and rare animals. 
AMAZONIAN DOLPHIN. Is the largest river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists call it, reaches 2.5 meters in length and weighs 2 centners. Light gray juveniles lighten with age. The body of the Amazonian dolphin is full, with a thin tail and a narrow muzzle. A round forehead, a slightly curved beak and small eyes are the features of this species of dolphins. There is an Amazonian dolphin in the rivers and lakes of Latin America. 
FISH-MOON or MOLA-MOLA. This fish can be over three meters long and weigh about one and a half tons. The largest specimen of the moonfish was caught in New Hampshire, USA. Its length was five and a half meters, data on weight are not available. In shape, the body of the fish resembles a disk, it was this feature that gave rise to the Latin name. The moonfish has thicker skin. It is elastic, and its surface is covered with small bony protrusions. Fish larvae of this species and juveniles swim in the usual way. Adult large fish swim on their side, quietly moving their fins. They seem to lie on the surface of the water, where they are very easy to notice and catch. However, many experts believe that only sick fish swim in this way. As an argument, they cite the fact that the stomach of fish caught on the surface is usually empty. 
TASMANIAN DEVIL. Being the largest of modern predatory marsupials, this animal is black in color with white spots on the chest and rump, with a huge mouth and sharp teeth, has a dense physique and severe disposition, for which, in fact, it was called the devil. Emitting ominous cries at night, the massive and clumsy Tasmanian devil outwardly resembles a small bear: the front legs are slightly longer than the hind legs, the head is large, and the muzzle is blunted. 
LORI. Feature Lori - large eyes, which can be bordered by dark circles, between the eyes there is a white dividing strip. The muzzle of a lory can be compared to a clown mask. This most likely explains the name of the animal: Loeris means "clown" in translation. 
GAVIAL. Of course, one of the representatives of the detachment of crocodiles. With age, the muzzle of the gharial becomes even narrower and longer. Due to the fact that the gharial feeds on fish, its teeth are long and sharp, located with a slight inclination for the convenience of eating. 
OKAPI. FOREST GIRAFFE. Traveling in Central Africa, journalist and African explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) encountered local natives more than once. Having once met an expedition equipped with horses, the natives of the Congo told the famous traveler that they had wild animals in the jungle, very similar to his horses. The Englishman, who had seen a lot, was somewhat puzzled by this fact. After some negotiations in 1900, the British were finally able to purchase parts of the skin of a mysterious beast from the local population and send them to the Royal Zoological Society in London, where they gave the unknown animal the name "Johnston's Horse" (Equus johnstoni), that is, they identified it as a member of the horse family. . But what was their surprise when, a year later, they managed to get a whole skin and two skulls of an unknown animal, and find that It looks more like a pygmy giraffe of the times ice age. Only in 1909 was it possible to catch a live specimen of Okapi. 
VALABY. WOOD KANGAROO. To the genus Tree kangaroos - wallabies (Dendrolagus) include 6 species. Of these, D. Inustus or bear wallaby, D. Matschiei or Matchish wallaby, which has a subspecies D. Goodfellowi (Goodfellow wallaby), D. Dorianus - Doria wallaby, live in New Guinea. In Australian Queensland, there are D. Lumholtzi - Lumholtz's wallaby (bungari), D. Bennettianus - Bennett's wallaby, or tharibina. Their original habitat was New Guinea, but now wallabies are also found in Australia. Tree kangaroos live in the tropical forests of mountainous regions, at an altitude of 450 to 3000m. above sea level. The body size of the animal is 52-81 cm, the tail is from 42 to 93 cm long. Wallabies weigh, depending on the species, from 7.7 to 10 kg males and from 6.7 to 8.9 kg. females. 
WOLVERINE. Moves quickly and dexterously. The animal has an elongated muzzle, a large head, with rounded ears. The jaws are powerful, the teeth are sharp. Wolverine is a “big-legged” animal, the feet are disproportionate to the body, but their size allows them to move freely through the deep snow cover. Each paw has huge and curved claws. Wolverine climbs trees perfectly, has sharp eyesight. The voice is like a fox. 
FOSS. On the island of Madagascar, such animals have been preserved that are not found not only in Africa itself, but throughout the rest of the world. One of the rarest animals is Fossa - the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta and the largest predatory mammal living on the island of Madagascar. Appearance fossa is a little unusual: it is a cross between a civet and a small cougar. Sometimes the fossa is also called the Madagascar lion, since the ancestors of this animal were much larger and reached the size of a lion. Fossa has a squat, massive and slightly elongated body, the length of which can reach up to 80 cm (on average it is 65-70 cm). The legs of the fossa are long, but thick enough, with the hind legs higher than the front ones. The tail is often equal to the length of the body and reaches 65 cm. 
MANUL approves of this post and is only here because it should be. Everyone knows him. 
FENEC. STEPPE FOX. He agrees with the manula and is present here in so far as. After all, everyone saw him. 
THE NAKED DIGGER puts the manula and the fennec fox in karma and invites them to organize a club of the most feared animals in Runet. 
PALM THIEF. A representative of the decapod crustaceans. Which habitat is the western part of the Pacific Ocean and the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. This animal from the family of land crayfish is quite large for its species. The body of an adult individual reaches a size of up to 32 cm and a weight of up to 3-4 kg. For a long time it was mistakenly believed that with its claws it could even split coconuts, which after eats. To date, scientists have proven that cancer can only eat already split coconuts. They, being its main source of nutrition, gave the name palm thief. Although he is not averse to eating other types of food - the fruits of Pandanus plants, organic matter from the ground and even their own kind.
