Animal world of tropical rainforests. Rainforest Animals Rainforest Mammals

Toucans can be found in South and Central America under rainforest canopies. During sleep, toucans turn their heads and place their beaks under their wings and tail. Toucans are very important to the rainforest because they help spread the seeds from the fruits and berries they eat. There are about 40 different types of toucans, but unfortunately some species are endangered. The two main threats to the existence of toucans are the loss of their habitat and the growing demand in the commercial pet market.
They vary in size from about 15 centimeters to just over two meters. Large, colorful, light beaks are the hallmarks of toucans. These are noisy birds with their loud and raspy voices.

flying dragons

Tree lizards, so-called flying dragons, actually glide from tree to tree on their skin flaps, which look like wings. On each side of the body, between the fore and hind limbs, there is a large flap of skin supported by expanded movable ribs. Usually these "wings" are folded along the torsos, but they can open up to allow the lizard to glide for many meters in an almost horizontal state. The flying dragon feeds on insects, in particular ants. For reproduction, the flying dragon descends to the ground and lays 1 to 4 eggs in the soil.

Bengal tigers

The Bengal tiger lives in the Sundarbans regions of India, Bangladesh, China, Siberia and Indonesia, and is seriously endangered. Today, about 4,000 individuals remain in the wild, while at the turn of the century in 1900 there were more than 50,000. Poaching and habitat loss are the two main reasons for the declining numbers of Bengal tigers. They have not been able to adapt to harsh conditions, despite their belonging to the dominant species. Tigers, also known as the Royal Bengal Tiger, which is a subspecies of the tiger, can be found in the Indian subcontinent. The Bengal tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh and is considered the second largest tiger in the world.

South American harpies

One of the largest and most powerful of the fifty species of eagles in the world, the South American harpy lives in the tropical lowland forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico south to eastern Bolivia, and southern Brazil to northern Argentina. This is a disappearing view. The main threat to its existence is habitat loss due to constant deforestation, destruction of nesting and hunting grounds.

Dart frogs

These are frogs found in Central and South America. They are known for their bright colors that warn other animals that they are poisonous. Frog venom is one of the most powerful poisons known and can cause paralysis or death. It is so powerful that one millionth of 30 grams of poison can kill a dog, and less than a crystal of salt can kill a human. One frog has a supply of poison sufficient to send up to 100 people to the next world. Local hunters used poison for their arrows, from where the frog gets its name in English Poison-Arrow Frog (poisoned arrow frog).

Sloths

Sloths are extremely slow mammals that can be found in the rainforests of Central and South America. There are two types of sloths: two-toed and three-toed. Most sloths are about the size of a small dog. They have short, flat heads. Their fur is grey-brown, but sometimes they appear grey-green because they move so slowly that tiny camouflage plants have time to grow all over their fur. Sloths are nocturnal and sleep curled up with their heads between their arms and legs turned close together.

spider monkeys

Spider monkeys are large. An adult monkey can grow to be almost 60 centimeters tall, not counting the tail. The tail is very powerful. Monkeys use it as an extra limb. Spider monkeys like to hang upside down, clinging to branches with their tail and paws, which makes them look like spiders, where they get their name from. Also, these monkeys can jump from branch to branch at high speed. Their coat color can be black, brown, gold, red or bronze. Spider monkeys are the object of close attention of hunters, which is why they are on the verge of extinction. This photo is probably your only chance to ever see this monkey. Not to mention our species...

wine snakes

Only about a centimeter in diameter, wine snakes are a surprisingly "slim", elongated species. If the snake lies among the branches of forest trees, its proportions and green-brown color make it almost indistinguishable from dense creepers and vines. The head of a snake, just as thin and oblong. A slow-moving predator active during the day and at night, the wine snake feeds mainly on young birds, which it steals from nests, and on lizards. If the snake is threatened, it puffs up the front of its body, revealing the bright coloration that is normally hidden, and opens its mouth wide.

capybaras

The capybara spends a lot of time in the water and is an excellent swimmer and diver. She has webbed toes on her front and hind feet. When she swims, only her eyes, ears and nostrils are visible above the water. Capybaras feed on plant foods, including aquatic plants, and these animals' molars grow throughout their lives to counteract wear and tear from chewing. Capybaras live in families and are active at dawn and dusk. In areas where they are often disturbed, capybaras may be nocturnal. Males and females look the same, but males have a gland on their nose that is larger than females. They mate in the spring, and after 15-18 weeks of pregnancy, there may be 2 babies in the litter. Babies are well developed at birth.

Brazilian tapirs

Brazilian tapirs can almost always be found near bodies of water. These animals are good swimmers and divers, but they also move quickly on land, even in rough and mountainous terrain. Tapirs are dark brown in color. Their coat is short, and a mane grows down from the back of the neck. Thanks to the mobile snout, the tapir feeds on leaves, buds, shoots and small branches that the tapir cuts off trees, as well as fruits, herbs and aquatic plants. The female gives birth to one spotted-striped baby after a pregnancy that lasts from 390 to 400 days.

There's nothing sweeter than good old animal stories. But today I will not talk about pets, but about those that live in tropical forests. The rainforest ecosystem is home to a greater variety of animals than any other ecosystem. One of the reasons for this great diversity is the constantly warm climate. Rainforests also provide an almost constant presence of water and a wide variety of food for animals. So here are 10 amazing rainforest animals and some facts about their lives.

toucans

Toucans can be found in South and Central America under rainforest canopies. During sleep, toucans turn their heads and place their beaks under their wings and tail. Toucans are very important to the rainforest because they help spread the seeds from the fruits and berries they eat. There are about 40 different types of toucans, but unfortunately some species are endangered. The two main threats to the existence of toucans are the loss of their habitat and the growing demand in the commercial pet market. They vary in size from about 15 centimeters to just over two meters. Large, colorful, light beaks are the hallmarks of toucans. These are noisy birds with their loud and raspy voices.

flying dragons

Bengal tigers

South American harpies

Dart frogs

Sloths

spider monkeys

wine snakes

capybaras

Brazilian tapirs

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 by moist air coming in from the north and south, forming an area of intratropical convergence.
The rainforest is a response of flora to high temperatures and abundant moisture. At any time, the average temperature must be between about 21°C and 32°C, and the annual rainfall must exceed 150 centimeters. Since the sun is approximately at its zenith throughout the year, the climatic conditions are constant, which is not found in any other natural area. The rainforest is often associated with large 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 rainforest, many variants are formed, which are the result of both climatic differences and environmental features. 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 Indian subcontinent 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 patch of forest and exploited the cleared patches for crops for several years until the soil was depleted, forcing them to move to another patch. 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 there are no cyclical fluctuations in the number 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, as well as to elude tree-climbing predators attacking from below. The mammals that do this best are the primates: the monkeys, the great apes, the great apes, and the lemurs. long-armed zidda Araneapithecus manucaudata from the African subcontinent has taken this specialization to the extreme, and has developed long arms, legs and fingers, so that it has become a brachiator, that is, it swings on its hands, throwing its 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, coiled and camouflaged among the foliage in its highest crowns, 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.

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.

UNDERGROWTH

The dark zone of forest life

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 From the Age of Man, this creature evolved a frog-like body with webbed hind feet, long clawed toes on its front feet for catching fish, and a ridge along its back to keep its 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 a putty of 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 individual chambers that can immediately become watertight in case of danger, there is little damage 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 and dive like they did, it has mastered "underwater flight" by chasing its prey into 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.

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 marsupial mammals. 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 a poisonous bite on her from an 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.

Migrants: Miching and his Enemies: Arctic Ocean: Southern Ocean: Mountains

Sand Dwellers: Desert Large Animals: North American Deserts

Grass Eaters: Plains Giants: Meat Eaters

TROPICAL FORESTS 86

Forest Canopy: Tree Dwellers: Undergrowth: Water Life

Australian Forests: Australian Forest Undergrowth

South American Forests: South American Pampas: Lemuria Island

Batavia Islands: Pacaus Islands

Vocabulary: Tree of Life: Index: Acknowledgments

In India and Africa, species of narrow-nosed monkeys live, and in America - broad-nosed ones. Their tail and limbs allow them to skillfully climb trees, where they get their livelihood.

mammals

Predators such as leopards and cougars live in.

An interesting species is the American tapir, somewhat reminiscent of the rhinoceros.

In reservoirs you can find nutria. People are hunting for this species of large rodents, because they have valuable fur.

Nutria

In South American, you can meet sloths that resemble in appearance. They have fairly long and flexible limbs that cling to trees. These are slow animals, they move slowly along the branches.

Armadillos with a powerful shell live in the forests. During the day they sleep in their burrows, and after dark they crawl out to the surface and are nocturnal.

The inhabitant is . He moves without problems on the ground, and climbs trees, eats ants and various insects.

Among the marsupial species, opossums can be found here.

opossums

Africans are inhabited by elephants and which are relatives of giraffes.

Elephant

Lemurs live in Madagascar, which are considered semi-monkeys.

Lemurs

Crocodiles are found in some reservoirs, among which the Nile crocodile is the most famous. In Asia, long-nosed crocodiles are known, which mainly swim in the Ganges. The length of his body reaches 7 meters.

Rhinos are found in tropical forests, and hippos are found in water bodies.

Rhinoceros

hippo

In Asia, you can meet a tiger, a sloth bear and.

rainforest birds

Many birds fly in the forests. Hoatzins, hummingbirds, and more than 160 species of parrots live in South America.

There are large populations of flamingos in Africa and America. They live near salt lakes and on sea coasts, feed on algae, worms and mollusks, and some insects.

There are peacocks in Asia and on nearby islands.

Wild bush chickens are found in India and the Sunda Islands.

bush hens

Insects and reptiles of the forests

There are many snakes (pythons, anacondas) and lizards (iguanas) in the rainforests.

In reservoirs there is a variety of species of amphibians and fish, among them the most famous in South America are piranhas.

Piranha

The most important inhabitants of the rainforest are ants.

Spiders, butterflies, mosquitoes and other insects also live here.

Insect

The rainforest is very rich in animals. in the Amazon and Orinoco There are many different kinds of monkeys. In their structure, they differ from the Old World monkeys living in Africa and India. Old world monkeys are called narrow-nosed, American monkeys are called broad-nosed. A long tenacious tail helps the monkeys deftly climb trees. The spider monkey has a particularly long and tenacious tail. Another monkey, the howler monkey, wraps its tail around the bough, holding it like a hand. Howler was named for its powerful, obnoxious voice.

The strongest predator tropical forests - jaguar. This is a large yellow cat with black spots on the skin. She Okay climbs trees.

The other big cat in America is the cougar. It is common in North America to Canada, in South America it is found in the steppes to Patagonia. The cougar is colored yellowish gray and somewhat resembles a lion (without a mane); this is probably why it is called the American lion.

Near the reservoirs in the thicket of the forest you can meet an animal that resembles a little horse and even more - a rhinoceros. The animal reaches 2 m in length. His muzzle is elongated, as if elongated in trunk. This is an American tapir. He, like a pig, loves to wallow in puddles.

On the lakes in the reed beds on the plains of Patagonia And on the mountain slopes of the Andes lives the nutria - the swamp beaver, or koipu - a large rodent the size of our river beaver. The life of a nutria is connected with water. The nutria feeds on the roots of succulent aquatic plants; it builds nests from reeds and reeds. The animal gives valuable moss. The nutria was transported to the Soviet Union and released in the swampy thickets of Transcaucasia. They have acclimatized and breed well. However, they suffer greatly during the cold winters that occur in Azerbaijan and Armenia, when the lakes freeze.

Unadapted to life in freezing reservoirs, nutria, diving under the ice, do not find a way out. At the same time, their habitats become accessible for jungle cats and jackals, which pass through the ice to nests of nutrias.

Armadillos, sloths and anteaters live in the forests of South America.

Body armadillo is covered with a shell, a bit reminiscent shield . The shell consists of two layers: inside it is bony, outside - horny - and is divided into belts, movably connected to each other.: Guiana and Brazil lives giant armadillo. The largest of the armadillos reach one and a half meters in length. Armadillos live in deep burrows and come out to prey only at night. They feed on termites, ants and various small animals.

Sloths have a monkey-like face. The long limbs of these animals are armed with large sickle-shaped claws. They got their name for slowness and sluggishness. The dull greenish-gray protective coloration of the sloth reliably hides it from the eyes of the enemy in the branches of trees. The color of the sloth is given by green algae that live in its rough And shaggy wool. This is one of the great examples of the cohabitation of animal and plant organisms.

IN In the forests of South America, several species of anteaters are found - The average anteater, tamandua, with a tenacious tail, is very interesting. He is great at running up sloping trunks and climbing trees, looking for ants and other insects.

Marsupials in the forests of Brazil are eared and water opossums. The water opossum, or swimmer, lives near rivers and lakes. It differs from the eared one in color and swimming membranes on the hind legs.

There are many different types of bats in South America. Among them are blood-sucking leaf-beetles that attack horses and mules, and vampires.

Despite their sinister name, vampires eat exclusively by insects and fruits of plants.

Of the birds of great interest is the hoatzin. This is a motley colored, rather large bird with a large crest on its head. The nest of the hoatzin is placed above the water, in the branches of trees or thickets of shrubs. Chicks are not afraid to fall into the water: they swim and dive well. Hoatzin chicks have long claws on the first and second fingers of the wing,; helping them climb branches and branches. It is curious that the adult hoatzin loses the ability to quickly move through the trees.

Studying the structure and lifestyle of hoatzin chicks, scientists came to the conclusion that the ancestors of birds also climbed trees. After all, the fossil first bird (Archaeopteryx) were long fingers with claws on the wings.

There are over 160 species of parrots in the rainforests of South America. The most famous are green Amazonian parrots. They are learn to speak well.

Only in one country - in America - live the smallest birds - hummingbirds. These are unusually bright and beautifully colored fast-flying pawns, some of them the size of a bumblebee. There are over 450 species of hummingbirds. They, like insects, hover around flowers, sucking flower juice with a thin beak and tongue. In addition, hummingbirds also feed on small insects.

There are many different snakes in the rainforests! and lizards. Among them are boas, or boa, anaconda, reaching I m in length, bushmaster - 4 l I in length. Due to the protective coloration of the skin, many snakes are hardly noticeable among the forest greenery.

There are especially many lizards in the tropical rainforest. Big broad-toed geckos are sitting on the trees. Among other species of lizards, the most interesting is the iguana, living and | in trees and on the ground. This lizard has a very beautiful emerald green color. She eats plant foods.

In the forests of Brazil and Guiana lives a large frog - the Surinamese pipa. It is interesting in a special way of reproduction. delayed female the eggs are distributed by the male on the back of the female. Each egg falls into a separate cell. In the future, the skin grows, and the cells close. The frogs develop on the back of the female; when they grow up they come out from cells. Nutrients necessary for frogs during development are transferred from the mother's body by blood vessels branching in the walls of skin cells.

In the rivers of tropical America there is a large fish - an electric eel, which has special electrical organs. With electric shocks, the eel stuns its prey and scares away its enemies.

In many rivers of South America lives an unusually predatory fish - piranha, 30 cm long. In her strong jaws sit sharp, knives, teeth. If you lower a piece of meat into the river, piranhas immediately appear from the depths and instantly tear it apart. Piranhas feed on fish, attack ducks and domestic animals that inadvertently entered the river. Even such large animals as tapirs suffer from piranha. Fish damage the lips of water-drinking animals. Piranhas are also dangerous to humans.

IN tropical the forests are diverse world of insects. Very large diurnal butterflies are numerous. They are very beautiful and richly colored, varied in shape and size. In Brazil, there are over 700 species of diurnal butterflies, while in Europe there are no more than 150 species.

Ants are very numerous. Penetrating into human dwellings, they eat his reserves and thereby cause significant harm. Umbelliferae ants live in underground galleries. They feed their larvae with mushroom mold, which is grown on finely chopped foliage. Ants bring pieces of leaves to the anthill, moving along strictly constant paths.

There are many spiders in the tropical belt of South America. Among them, the largest is the tarantula. Its size is more than 5 cm. Lizards, frogs, insects serve as food for it; apparently, it also attacks small birds. The same large earthen spiders are found in New Guinea and Java.

In the tropical forests of Africa live elephants, various monkeys, okapi - an animal related to the giraffe; in the rivers - hippos and crocodiles. The great apes are of the greatest interest. gorillas and chimpanzees. The gorilla is a very large monkey, the growth of males reaches 2 m, weight - 200 kg. They live in the most deaf, inaccessible parts of the tropical the woods and in the mountains. Gorillas make their lair in trees or on the ground in dense thickets. Gorillas have been heavily exterminated by humans and are now preserved only in two areas of the tropical forests of Africa - south of Cameroon before R. Congo and in the country of lakes Victoria and Tanganyika.

Chimpanzees are smaller than gorillas. An adult male is not higher than 1.5 m. They live in families, but sometimes they gather in small herds. Coming down from the trees, chimpanzees walk on the ground, leaning on the hands clenched into fists.

There are many species of monkeys in the tropical forests of Africa. The fur of these long-tailed little monkeys is greenish in color. Fingerless monkeys (colobus) are interesting, they do not have a thumb on their hands. The most beautiful of these monkeys is the Gverets. She lives in Ethiopia and in the forests west of this country. Macaques, related to African monkeys, live in tropical Asia.

Dog-headed monkeys - baboons - are very characteristic of the African continent. They live in the mountains of Africa.

The fauna of Madagascar has some peculiarities. So, for example, lemurs live on this island. Their body is covered with thick fur. Some have fluffy tails. Lemurs' faces quicker bestial than simian; hence they are called semi-monkeys.

There are many different species in the African rainforests. parrots. The most famous gray parrot is a gray parrot, which imitates the human voice very well.

Crocodiles have been preserved in large numbers in places. They are especially fond of rivers, the banks of which are overgrown with dense tropical forest. The Nile crocodile reaches 7 m in length.

In the forests of Africa live large, up to 6 liters in length, boas - pythons.

Among the fish, the lungfish protopterus, which inhabits muddy lakes and swamps, attracts attention. These fish, in addition to gills, have lungs that they breathe during a drought. IN South America lives lungfish lepidosiren, and in Australia - ceratodes.

In the humid dense forests of the islands of Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan), the orangutan ape lives. This is a large monkey, covered with coarse red hair. Adult males grow large beards.

Close to the great apes, the gibbon is smaller in size than the orangutan, its body length is 1 m. The gibbon is distinguished by long limbs; with their help, swinging on the branches, he very easily jumps from tree to tree. Gibbons live on the island of Sumatra, on Malacca Peninsula and in the mountain forests of Burma.

In the forests of the Greater Sunda Islands - Sumatra and Borneo - and in Eastern India, a variety of macaques live. Lives on the island of Borneo

nosed monkey. Her nose is long, almost proboscis-shaped. In older animals, especially in males, the nose is much longer than in young monkeys.

In the forests of India and on the nearest large islands, the Indian elephant is often found. Since ancient times, it has been tamed by man and used in various jobs.

The common Indian rhinoceros is well known - the most large one-horned rhinoceros.

In Asia, a relative of American tapirs lives - the black-backed tapir. It reaches 2 m in height. Back he is light, and other parts of the body are covered with short black hair.

Among the predators of southern Asia, the most famous Bengal Tiger. Most tigers survived in India, Indochina, on the islands of Sumatra and Java.

The tiger is a twilight animal; he hunts for large ungulates. A tiger, in case of injury by an unsuccessful shot of a hunter, illness or old age, or in general, for any reason, has lost the ability to hunt ungulates that make up its main food, attacks people, becomes a "cannibal" Raquo;.

We have tigers in Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Primorye and in the south of the Ussuri Territory.

The leopard is distributed in southern Asia, in the forests of the Greater Sunda Islands And in Japan. It is found in the Caucasus, in the mountains of Central Asia and in Primorye. We call him a bar. Leopard attacks domestic animals; he is cunning, bold, and dangerous to humans. On the Greater Sunda Islands, black leopards are often found; they are called black panthers.

South Asia is home to the sloth bear and the Malay bear, the biruang. Gubach- a large, heavy beast, armed with long claws, allowing it to climb trees well. The color of his fur is black, on the chest there is a large white spot. Its large lips are mobile, they can be pulled out with a tube, and with a long tongue from the cracks of insect trees. Gubach lives in tropical forests on the peninsula of Hindustan and on the island of Ceylon. It feeds on plants, fruits, berries, insects, bird eggs and small animals.

The Malayan bear has short, black fur. It spends most of its life in trees, feeding on fruits and insects.

There are many birds in tropical Asia. One of the most beautiful is considered a peacock living in the wild in Java, Ceylon and Indochina.

In the forests of the Sunda Islands, in Ceylon and in India, Bapkiv or bush chickens live & mdash; wild ancestors of domestic chickens, many species of pheasants and other chickens.

The waters of South Asia are inhabited by long-snouted gharial crocodiles. They live in r. Ganges.

On the peninsula Malacca there is a snake reticulated python, reaching 10 m length.

In the forests of India there are many poisonous snakes, from the bites of which a large number of people suffer every year. The most dangerous cobra, or spectacled snake. She got her name from the spots on the back of her head that look like glasses.

The tropics are inhabited by many amphibians, or amphibians. Among them is the Javan flying frog. Strongly developed webs between the toes of the front and hind paws allow it to jump from one tree to another when planning.

Having become acquainted with the distribution of animals on the globe, it is easy to see that similar animals live on different continents under similar living conditions. Some species have adapted to life in the tundra, others in the steppes and deserts, and others in the mountains and forests. Each continent has its own fauna - species of animals that live only on this continent. Especially in this regard, the animal world of Australia is peculiar, which we will consider below.

Studying the past of the Earth from the fossil remains of animals that once inhabited the continents and islands, scientists came to the conclusion that the composition of the fauna, that is, the animal world, has continuously changed in all geological epochs. Connections arose between the continents; so, for example, between Asia and North America there was a connection. Animals that inhabited Asia may have entered the Americas; therefore, in the fauna of America and Asia, we still see a lot of similarities at the present time. Geological history helps to clarify some features in the distribution of animals. on continents. So, leftovers marsupials are found in the ancient layers of the land of Europe and America. Nowadays, these marsupials live only in Australia and only a few species in America. Consequently, earlier marsupials on the globe were much more widespread. This confirms the opinion of geologists about the connection that existed between these continents.

Having studied the composition of the animal world of individual continents and islands, scientists divided the globe into areas characterized by animal species that are found only in this area.

The main areas are as follows: Australian, Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa), Eastern or Indo-Malayan, Holarctic (Northern Asia, Europe and North America).