There are 5 main biomes on the Earth: forest, grassland, tundra, aquatic, and desert. The tropical rainforest biome is a subcategory within the forest biome. Tropical rainforests receive around 8.5 feet of rain each year and are located near the Earth’s equator. Throughout the year, these tropical rainforests receive rain and they have no dry season. Even though it rains all year there, tropical rainforests are still extremely warm and humid. Nonetheless, many different types of animals call the tropical rainforest their home! In fact, half of the animal species on Earth reside in tropical rainforests! Let’s explore and learn more about some of these animals!
The first animal we’ll meet is the anteater. The anteater is a mammal that is closely related to the family of sloths. They are often found using their claws to open ant nests.
Next up, we’ll meet the beetle, which is an invertebrate. Out of all insects, 40% of insects are classified as beetles. In total, there are about 370,000 species of beetles. That’s definitely much more than other species of animals! Although beetles may be small in size, they can actually carry 850 times their own weight. Now, that is pretty impressive.
The next animal we’ll meet is the Toco Toucan. What an interesting sounding name. The Toco Toucan is a bird in the toucan family and is the largest out of all the different kinds of toucans. It’s distinguishing trait is its long and colorful beak. Since Toco Toucans aren’t the best at flying, they often move from tree to tree by hopping.
Last but not least, we’ll meet the hedgehog, which is a mammal. There is a total of 17 species of hedgehog. All hedgehogs have little spikes, called spines, that stick out from their bodies. Hedgehogs got their name since they live in hedges and their snouts are like those of hogs. Often times, hedgehogs will roll themselves into little balls in order to protect themselves from predators.
That concludes our little journey in learning about a few of the many animals that are found in the tropical rainforest. Bye bye for now!
References Tropical rainforest animals: http://www.skyenimals.com/browse_habitat.cgi?habitat=tropical_forest Rainforest biome: http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/rainforest.html Toco Toucan: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animalfacts/tocotoucan/