Weird as it looks, this insect has a head that closely resembles an unshelled peanut! It has an enlarged head with a bulbous protuberance popping out of it. Scientists are uncertain of what its purpose is. They believe that it could possibly mimic a lizard's head to pave the way towards escaping predators. It's wings are unique in a way that the spots appear like an owl's eyes.
Some myths say that it's bite can be deadly depending on the mood of these wings. Truth is, the peanut head bug would be apparently defenseless in itself and is simply a harmless plant-hopper. As its name implies, the skin of the glass frog is translucent though it is mostly lime green.
You can actually see its abdomen, heart, liver, and various other organs if you care to look, as if you have been granted X-Ray vision! Glass frog tadpoles freely flow from the trees and fall directly into the water upon hatching. The Jesus lizard was given its name thanks to its ability to run on water. Catholic explorers found it similar to the Gospel story of Jesus who walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. When fleeing from predators, it can literally run on the surface of water such as a pond or stream at a speed of 5 miles per hour, and for up to a distance of 20 meters.
This common basilisk can do this incredible stunt with its toes that possess a special webbing, allowing it to stand upon its two hind feet. The kinkajou, a relative of the raccoon, has a furry golden skin and a tail designed to grip branches. More commonly known as bear-monkey, honey bear or lion monkey, the Kinkajou is rarely seen because it is a nocturnal creature who clings on the top of trees. They use their 5-inch long tongues to pick ripe hanging fruits.
They love to drink the nectar of flowers and have a diet consisting of 90 percent fruits. This fungus is the only food that they need to eat. The perfect partnership — Azteca ants live on the Swollen Thorn Acacia Tree, which offers the ants everything needed for survival — lodging, water, and food for themselves and their young.
In return, the ants protect the trees from predators. Whenever the ants feel something moving at the foot of the tree, they rush to fiercely fight the intruder.
They also protect it from vines and other competing plants that would otherwise strangle it. As a result, nothing can grow near these trees.
They are the only trees with a built-in alarm system! A: The constant search for food, water, sunlight and space is a hour pushing and shoving match. With this fierce competition, you may be amazed that so many different species of animals can all live together. But this is actually the cause of the huge number of different species.
The main secret lies in the ability of many animals to adapt to eating a specific plant or animal, which few other species are able to eat. Have you ever wondered, for instance, why toucans and parrots have such big beaks?
These beaks give them a great advantage over other birds with smaller beaks. The fruits and nuts from many trees have evolved with tough shells to protect them from predators. In turn toucans and parrots developed large strong beaks, which serves as a nutcracker and provides them with many tasty meals. A: Many animals species have developed relationships with each other that benefit both species. Birds and mammal species love to eat the tasty fruits provided by trees. Even fish living in the Amazon River rely on fruits dropped from forest trees.
In turn, the fruit trees depend upon these animals to eat their fruit, which helps them to spread their seeds to far-off parts of the forest.
In some cases both species are so dependent upon each other that if one becomes extinct, the other will as well. This nearly happened with trees that relied on the now-extinct Dodo birds.
They once roamed Mauritius, a tropical island located in the Indian Ocean. They became extinct during the late 19th century when humans over-hunted them. The Calvaria Tree stopped sprouting seeds soon after. These rainforest fish feed on the blood of larger fish by attaching themselves to their gills of their victims. It is even rumored that the candiru can enter a human body.
However, this is both unproven and unlikely. It lives South and Central American forests. The capybara has several adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle. It can remain submerged for up to five minutes; a useful skill for an animal whose predators include jaguars and ocelots! Civets are cat-like mammals found in rainforests in Asia and Africa. They produce a strong-smelling substance that is used to make perfume although most perfume manufacturers are now switching to synthetic alternatives.
Most civets are members of the family Viverridae the binturong also belongs to this family. The African palm civet , a civet found in African rainforests, is the only species in the family Nandiniidae. Civets are mammals in the group Carnivora. This group is split into two branches; Feliforma the cat-like carnivorans and Caniformia the dog-like carnivorans. Civits, along with animals such as cats and hyenas, are placed in Feliforma.
These cat-sized carnivorous mammals are members of the raccoon family, Procyonidae. Coatis forage on the forest floor by day. They find food among the leaf litter using their acute sense of smell.
During the night they rest in the rainforest canopy. Despite its name and eel-like appearance, the electric eel is a knifefish rather than a true eel. This long, thin fish has a fin running almost the whole length of the underside of its body. By moving this fin with a wave-like motion the electric eel is able to swim both forwards and backwards.
Like other knifefish, the electric eel is able to produce electrical fields that help it navigate in murky water. The electric eel has greatly developed this ability and is able to produce voltages strong enough both to stun prey and deter predators.
A shock from an electric eel can even be life-threatening to humans! This strange-looking rainforest bug is found in the island country of Madagascar.
This is an adaptation for fighting and nest-building. The neck of the male is over twice as long as that of the female, giving the insect a total body length of almost 1 in. In their adult form they are over 10 cm 3. Their larvae weigh up to grams 3. The goliath birdeater is a member of the tarantula family Theraphosidae. This huge rainforest spider is the heaviest spider in the world although its leg-span, at 11 inches 28 cm is only the second largest, after the giant huntsman spider.
Its body reaches a length of up to 4. The Goliath birdeater lives deep in the rainforests of northern South America, including the Amazon rainforest. It hunts at night, preying on a variety of large invertebrates and small vertebrates, including lizards and frogs. Despite its name, the species only occasionally eats birds.
However, a green anaconda can still grow to over This huge rainforest snake is an excellent swimmer , and is found in the lakes and rivers of the Amazon Rainforest.
Like all members of the family Boidae , the green anaconda is non-venomous. Instead, it relies on its squeezing ability to subdue its prey.
The green iguana is a large lizard that lives in the forests of Central and South America. Although this rainforest reptile looks fierce, it mainly eats plants. The species is arboreal tree-dwelling. It is often found near water, and is an excellent swimmer. The closely-related Lesser Antillean iguana , a species found in the rainforests of the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean, is critically endangered. It is capable of plucking mid-sized mammals such as monkeys and sloths from out of trees.
The hoatzin is a pheasant-shaped bird with a long body, broad tail, and a spiky crest on its head. The hoatzin is an unusual bird for several reasons. The species nests above water, and if threatened, the juveniles drop into the water. Using their claws, they are able to climb back into the nest once the danger has passed.
The species also has an unusual way of digesting its food, which consists largely of green leaves. All fifteen species of howler monkey live in the rainforests of South and Central America. There can be from 6 to 15 howler monkeys in a troop. These big cats live in South American rain forests, where they are apex predators i. Jaguars have extremely powerful jaws and are excellent swimmers — not even caimans are safe from these fearsome carnivores!
Specifically, they are found in the Congo, Cameroon and parts of Nigeria. Chimpanzees are known for their incredible intelligence, and one has even been sent on a space mission! But in the wild Chimpanzees spend most of their time traversing through the treetops of lush tropical Rainforests in equatorial Africa. They have been known to use tools, such as sticks to fish termites out of ant hills and leaves to soak up drinking water.
Where Chimpanzees are found: Chimpanzees inhabit tropical rainforests and wet savannas of West and Central Equatorial Africa. Gaboon Vipers are one of the largest venomous snakes in the world by mass. Their fangs, the longest of any snake, can measure up to 2 inches in length and inject a large amount of venom, second only to the King Cobra. Gaboon Vipers, like the primates on this list, are from Africa where they can be found in fallen leaf litter, waiting to ambush their prey.
Where Gaboon Vipers are found: Gaboon Vipers are found in tropical rainforests along equatorial Africa. They tend to be found in rainforests in East and West Central Africa. Tigers, the biggest cats in the world, can be found in a handful of different habitat types including tropical rainforests.
Tigers can be territorial and need extremely large areas of land to fulfill their biological needs. With rates of deforestation increasing, Tiger populations have unfortunately suffered greatly.
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