![]() ![]() As a result, nothing can grow near these trees. They also protect it from vines and other competing plants that would otherwise strangle it. ![]() Whenever the ants feel something moving at the foot of the tree, they rush to fiercely fight the intruder. In return, the ants protect the trees from predators. 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. This fungus is the only food that they need to eat. The combination of leaves and substances that the ants produce such as saliva allows a type of fungus to grow. These ants don’t eat the leaves they have collected, but instead bury them underground. on his/her back! The forest floor is converted to a maze of busy highways full of these moving leaf fragments. Sometimes they need to travel 200 feet, equal to an average human walking about 6 miles with 5,000 lbs. They then carry these fragments, weighing as much as 50 times their body weight, back to their homes. They climb trees up to 100-feet tall and cut out small pieces of leaves. Have you ever heard of an ant that farms? Or ants that act as security guards? Leaf-cutter, or parasol ants, can rightfully be called the world’s first farmers. Insects are often beautiful and always fascinating. One scientist found 50 different species of ants on a single tree in Peru! You would probably only need a few hours of poking around in a rainforest to find an insect unknown to science. Scientists estimate that there are more than 50 million different species of invertebrates living in rainforests. The only living animals you could be sure to see are the millions of insects creeping and crawling around in every layer of the rainforest. It’s so small, it could sit in a person’s hand! Q: Which type of rainforest species is most numerous?Ī: If you were to visit a rainforest, you probably wouldn’t run into many jaguars or monkeys. Its entire population lives within a few square miles in the Amazon rainforest. The Maues marmoset, a species of monkey, wasn’t discovered until recently. Living in limited areas, most of these species are endemic, or found nowhere else on earth. Other species consist of only a few dozen individuals. Some rainforest species have populations that number in the millions. They rarely have to search for water, as rain falls almost every day in tropical rainforests. year-round, animals don’t have to worry about freezing during cold winters or finding shade in the hot summers. With temperatures constant at 75 -80 degrees F. The nearly perfect conditions for life also helped contribute to the great number of species. Therefore, rainforest plants and animals continued to evolve, developing into the most diverse and complex ecosystems on earth. But the giant freeze did not reach a number of refuges in tropical rainforests. During the Ice Ages, the last of which ended about 10,000 years ago, the frozen areas of the North and South Poles spread over much of the earth, causing a high rate of animal extinction. Some rainforests in Southeast Asia have been around for at least 100 million years, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. If they are starved for a long period of time they are driven to more aggressive behaviour in order to get a meal.Explore RAN's Wildlife Factsheets Q: Why do more animal species live in the rainforest than other parts of the world?Ī: Scientists believe that there is a great diversity of animals because rainforests are the oldest ecosystems on earth. These fish are at their most dangerous when trapped in a small pool of water. Piranhas will dart in and out very quickly whilst feeding in order to grab a mouthful but get out fast before they are accidentally bitten by another Piranha. Their triangular, serrated teeth, like little steak-knives, are perfectly designed for slicing through flesh. They sometimes take baby birds that fall from their nests and aquatic insects. Red Bellies are scavengers that mostly feed on dead or dying creatures and very rarely attack anything that's living. They spend much of their time hovering motionless in the river plants and roots to avoid catching the attention of any hungry Crocs or River Dolphins. These fish have a fearsome reputation but you'll soon discover that this is for the most part undeserved and that they are actually rather beautiful! Their bodies appear to be covered in glitter These sparkling scales make them hard for predators, such as birds, to spot from the riverbank as they look like the sunlight reflecting off the water's surface. ![]()
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