Rainforests as habitats

What are rainforests?

Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests.
They are habitats for millions of plants and
animals.

Rainforests are extremely important in the

ecology of the Earth. The plants of the rainforest
generate much of the Earth's oxygen.

Where are the rainforests?

Tropical rainforests are found in a belt around
the Equator of the Earth.
There are tropical rainforests across South
America, Central America, Africa, South East
Asia and Australia.

Layers of the rainforest

Different animals and plants live in different parts of the
rainforest. Scientists divide the rainforest into different layers
(zones) based on the living environment. Starting at the top the
layers are:
EMERGENTS: Giant trees that are much
higher than the average canopy height. It
houses many birds and insects.
CANOPY: The upper parts of the trees.
This leafy environment is full of life in a
tropical rainforest and includes: insects,
birds, reptiles, mammals, and more.
UNDERSTORY: A dark, cool environment
under the leaves but over the ground.
FOREST FLOOR: Teeming with animal
life, especially insects. The largest
animals in the rainforest generally live
here.

Animals of the rainforest.

Rainforests are tremendously rich
in animal life. Rainforests are
populated with insects (like
butterflies and beetles), arachnids
(like spiders and ticks), worms,
reptiles (like snakes and lizards),
amphibians (like frogs and toads),
birds (like parrots and toucans)
and mammals (like sloths, monkeys,
apes and jaguars).

Different animals live in different strata of the

rainforest. For example, birds live in the canopy (upper
leaves of the trees) and in the emergents (the tops of the
tallest trees). Large animals (like jaguars) generally live on
the forest floor, but others (like howler monkeys and
sloths) are arboreal (living in trees). Insects are found
almost everywhere.

Morpho Butterfly- lives in the canopy. Has a wing span of 18 cm.

Many birds live in the Emergent (top) layer. They look for
nesting places and are away from predators.

The canopy is home to many

birds and monkeys.
The understory layer gets little light and is home to
many animals like frogs, bats, apes and owls.
There are ant eaters and leafcutter ants.
The forest floor is home to many insects, spiders
and large animals like jaguars and ocelots.

Chlamydosaurus kingii

Green palm viper arboreal snake

Invent a rainforest creature of your own.

This is a Butterfroguin. It lives in the Brazilian rainforest.

Zoologists have never seen it flying, and believe it uses its wings to
attract insects and butterflies to eat. The Butterfroguin is a mix
of butterfly, frog and penguin.

Howler Monkey Genus Alouatta

General information
The Howler Monkey is the loudest monkey and the
loudest land animal. The only animal that is louder than
the Howler Monkey is the Blue Whale. The Howler's call
can be heard up to three miles (4.8 km) away.
The Howler is the largest New World monkey (monkeys
from South, North, and Central America).
Habitat
These social primates live high in the trees (the canopy)
of the rain forests of southern Brazil, northern Argentina,
Paraguay, and Bolivia. Howlers have a life span of about
20 years. These monkeys are in decline due to a loss of
habitat.
Anatomy
Adult male Howlers are black to brown; females and the
young are lighter in colour. Howlers grow to be about 2 to
4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) tall and weigh from 8 to 22 pounds
(3.5 to 10 kg). They have a long tail, a short snout, and
wide-set, round nostrils. Adults females usually have one
baby at a time.
Diet
Howlers eat mostly leaves, but occasionally supplement
their diet with fruit and maggots.
Predators
Large birds of prey (like the harpy eagle) prey upon the
howler monkey.