Amazon Rainforest Fauna
Amazon Rainforest Fauna
Amazon-rainforest.org
According to the National Academy of Sciences, a typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 of reptiles, 60 of amphibians, and 150 different species of butterflies. In one study, one square meter of leaf litter, when analyzed, turned up 50 species of ants alone. Following are some nice examples of the Amazon rainforest fauna :
Tapir
The Tapir is the largest herbivore (350-600 pounds) in the Amazon rainforest and it's a very ancient mammal. The Tapir has a strange look with a "nose" that resembles a small elephant trunk. Because their digestive system is very slow and inefficient, the Tapir eats all day and much of what a tapir eats leaves its body undigested. Because of this the Tapir became a major player in the dissemination of plants in the Amazon rainforest region. They have a great sense of smell and hearing which are used to evade predators. Unfortunately because of its size the Tapir is hunted as a source of food and that combined with their low rate of reproduction puts them at a high extinction risk.
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