- The Amazon is home to nearly 2,500 different species of trees and 60,000 distinct types of plants.
- Many trees, such as the giant mahogany, are very tall.
- The rainforest provides habitats for over 300 species of mammals and 2,000 species of birds.
- The Amazon River is the centre of life in this region and its waters are home to over 2,000 species of fish.
FLORA
WATER LILY
- The Water Lily can reach six feet in diameter.
- Although they are extremely big, they are very thin and weigh very little so they can float on the water.
- In the Amazon rainforest you can find lakes filled with water lilies almost creating an illusion of a solid floor.
- The Water Lily grows in the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, as well as bayous and specific lakes in Brazil.
- The third adaptation of this Giant Water Lily is that the flower only lives for three days.
Survival Adaptation
The water lily adapts to the environment, by growing thorns on the bottom of the leaves to protect itself from fishes and other predator that might want to eat it. The lily is well defended from fish and other animals because of the sharp spines on the flower buds, leaf stalks, and underside of leaves. In contrast, the leaf surface feels smooth to touch and slightly rubbery.
ORCHIDS
- The orchids are very well known by their beautiful flowers and can be found in the Amazon rainforest.
- They have strong smells that attract insects that pollinate them. Some are pollinated by moths and thus their smell is stronger at night.
- While some are self-pollinating, most rely on specific insects or birds for pollination.
Survival Adaptation
The plant makes up for its lack of a true water root system by having a symbiotic relationship with a fungi called mycorrhizae during some portion of their life cycle. The fungi grow partly inside orchid roots, helping the plant to absorb water and minerals and orchid produces some nutrients during photosynthesis that help the fungi to survive.
THE KAPOK TREE
- The kapok tree can reach up to 200 feet in height, sometimes growing as much as 13 feet per year. Due to its extreme height it towers over the other rainforest vegetation.
- The trunk can expand to nine or 10 feet in diameter. In the openings of this plant live a diverse number of species like frogs, birds and etc.
- The white and pink flowers of the kapok tree release a foul odor that attracts bats. As the bats move from flower to flower feasting on the nectar, they get pollen on their fur, thus enabling pollination.
Survival Adaptation
The kapok tree spreads many seeds, between 500 and 4,000 fruits at one time, with each fruit containing 200 seeds. When these fruits burst open, silky fibers spread the seeds all over the forest. The kapok tree has a supportive root system, which can extend out over 30 feet from the main trunk, and helps provide moisture and support for the mature tree. When the kapok is young, the trunk develops pointy, conical spines about an inch to an inch and a half long,
HELICONIA
- There are about 40 different species of heliconia.
- The leaves of this plant are paddle-shaped, and is related to the banana family.
- Some species of heliconia have upright facing flowers, and in some called hanging heliconia, the flowers dangle down from the main stem.
- Hummingbirds and butterflies like to drink the sweet nectar from the heliconia’s flowers.
Survival Adaptation
A bract is a leaf structure at the base of a flower. The heliconia's flowers are tiny and found inside these bracts, which are so large and colorful that they almost hide the flowers altogether. This keeps the flower's sweet nectar tucked away so that only specialized birds can get to it.
FAUNA
JAGUAR
- The Jaguar is a powerful hunter on top of the food chain, known for their camouflage spots and the ability to climb trees.
- Jaguars are known to eat deer, peccary, crocodiles, snakes, monkeys, deer, sloths, tapirs, turtles, eggs, frogs, fish and anything else they can catch.
- Its roar can spread for hundreds of feet
- The jaguar hunts mostly on the ground, but it sometimes climbs a tree and pounces on its prey from above. It has very powerful jaws and sharp teeth and usually kills its prey with one crushing bite to the skull.
Survival Adaptation
The Jaguar can move extremely quietly in the forest using especially padded paws. These abilities combined with jaws that can penetrate a turtle shell and the preference to hunt at night ( jaguars have excellent vision), makes the jaguar a stealthy and mortal predator. Its jaws, stealth, and vision help defend or hide itself from predators, or to hunt prey.
PIRANHA
- There are 18 species of Piranha, and 4 of those species are dangerous to man.
- They live in "schools". Many times they will wait for prey to come to the shallow water of the river. Then the large group of piranhas will attack and can kill large animals.
- They are found in clouded water, slow moving water. Water needs to be between 24 and 27 degrees centigrade.
- They live in all the rivers of South America.
- Red Piranhas can grow up to 1 foot in length.
Survival Adaptation
They have 27-36 teeth. Powerful muscles operate the lower jaw. Their lower teeth fit perfectly into the spaces of their upper teeth, creating a tremendous vice-like bite. Some species of piranha are as dangerous as a shark. Piranhas are attracted to any disturbance in the water. Many times they get into such a feeding frenzy that they take bites out of each other. Piranhas have microscopic eggs. When the eggs hatch, they are immediately considered dangerous.
ANACONDA
- The anaconda, usually weighing more than a horse, is one of the longest snakes in the world
- The anaconda is not poisonous
- The anaconda can swallow, slowly, an entire cow
- Anacondas’ are not easily seen but they can be seen when they are eating a big prey since it can take days to digest and are immovable in the process
- The anaconda is one of the highlights of the Amazon rainforest fauna
- Their lifespan in the wild is about ten years
Survival Adaptation
The snake hunts by ambushing the victim and coiling itself around it, crushing it. Green anacondas, as the one showed above, can grow to more than 29 feet (8.8 meters), weigh more than 550 pounds (227 kilograms), and measure more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) in diameter.
TAPIR
- The tapir is the largest herbivore (350-600 pounds) in the Amazon rainforest and it’s a very ancient mammal
- 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 seed spreading of plants in the Amazon rainforest region
- Because of a symbiotic adaptation, the tapir is able to survive eating plants
- Unfortunately because of its size the Tapir is hunted
Survival Adaptation
They have a great sense of smell and hearing which are used to evade predators. Inside a pocket of its large intestine, the tapir harbors a host of microorganisms that help break down the cellulose found in plant material. The tapir has a symbiotic relationship with this microorganism.